Crime
Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother charged with federal crimes in connection with alleged $1 million fraud
MIAMI (AP) — Rapper-singer Sean Kingston and his mother have been charged in South Florida with fraud involving greater than $1 million.
Kingston, 34, and his mother, Janice Turner, 61, made their first appearance Friday in federal court, in response to court documents. A Miami grand jury issued an indictment earlier this month accusing Kingston and his mother of participating in a fraud scheme to defraud victims of luxury specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods using false documents.
Kingston was reserved to Broward County Jail on similar state charges last month after his May 23 arrest at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing. Turner was arrested the identical day as her son when a SWAT team raided his rented residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
According to the federal indictment, Kingston and Turner falsely claimed to have made wire transfers or other money transfers for high-quality items when no such transfers occurred. Investigators said Kingston and Turner then kept greater than $1 million price of fraudulently purchased items, despite the fact that that they had not paid for them.
Arrest warrants show that between October and March, the suspects stole nearly $500,000 in jewelry, greater than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade showroom, greater than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 from a custom bed manufacturer.
The Jamaican-American artist had a primary hit with “Beautiful Girls” in 2007 and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”
Robert Rosenblatt, a lawyer for Kingston and his mother, didn’t immediately reply to a message in search of comment from The Associated Press. He previously said they looked forward to addressing the allegations and were “confident in a successful resolution.”
Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, was already serving a two-year suspended sentence for dealing in stolen goods.
His mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud of greater than $160,000 and spent nearly a yr and a half in prison, in response to federal court documents.