Rapper Sean Kingston arrested in California after SWAT raid on his Florida home; accused of fraud

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Rapper Sean Kingston was arrested in California on fraud charges Thursday, hours after a SWAT team entered his rented South Florida residence and took away a truck full of items.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said Kingston was arrested without incident on a Florida warrant in the world of ​​Fort Irwin, a military base in the desert about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Earlier in the day, Broward detectives arrested his 61-year-old mother, Janice Turner, during a raid on the rapper’s 1,300-square-foot home in Southwest Ranches, the affluent Fort Lauderdale suburb where his house is situated. many stars and skilled athletes, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill.

Broward County prosecutors referred all inquiries to the sheriff’s office, which declined to supply details in regards to the charges, citing the continuing investigation. After the raid, reporters outside the house saw authorities filling a van with goods. The manor was surrounded by expensive sports cars.

“People love negative energy!” Kingston posted on Instagram earlier on Thursday. “I’m good and so is my mother! … My lawyers are handling everything right now.” The post was later deleted.

Robert Rosenblatt, a lawyer representing the rapper and his mother, said “we are aware of some of the allegations” made against the 2.

“We look forward to taking this matter to court and are confident of a successful resolution for Shawn and his mother,” Rosenblatt wrote in an email.

Florida Department of Corrections records show Kingston is currently on probation for 2 years for trafficking in stolen property. No further information on this judgment might be found. He might be held in California until extradited to Florida.

According to federal court records, his mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing greater than $160,000 and spent nearly 1.5 years in prison. She was being held in the Broward Jail on $160,000 bail as of Thursday evening.

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The Jamaican-American rapper is best known for his 2007 No. 1 single “Beautiful Girls”; one other hit “Take You There”; and his collaboration with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.” In 2011, he suffered near-fatal injuries in a jet ski accident. Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, hasn’t released an album on a significant label in over a decade.

An attorney who witnessed his mother’s arrest said the arrests are partly related to a lawsuit he filed against Kingston in February, accusing him of defrauding a Florida company that installed a 232-inch (5.8-meter) television in his home. , i.e. roughly 17 by 9.5 meters. feet (5 meters by 3 meters).

“It’s amazing what you can afford if you’re a star,” lawyer Dennis Card told the Associated Press. “He creates this larger than life personality: ‘I’m wealthy.’ His mother is an important part of this. He presents himself as a family guy. “I’m taking care of my mother, but she knows exactly what’s going on.”

In the lawsuit, Ver Ver Entertainment claims that Kingston contacted the corporate in September about purchasing a television sold under the Colossal TV brand and having it installed. The cost of the system is $150,000.

Kingston allegedly told the owners that in the event that they agreed to a lower down payment and gave him a loan, he and Bieber would do commercials for them.

The lawsuit says Kingston paid the corporate $30,000 in November and the tv was installed. He claims that despite quite a few guarantees, no promoting or further payments were ever made.

The lawsuit says Kingston is not any longer working with Bieber, who recently split from his longtime manager. There is not any current contact information for Bieber.

“He’s 100% not involved,” Card said of Bieber. “He had the misfortune of working with Sean in the past and Sean dropped his name like crazy.”