Rapper Sean Kingston sentenced to three and half years for fraud scheme involving his mother
Rapper Sean Kingston has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for a fraud scheme involving his mother.
Kingston, 35, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, were convicted in March in a Florida federal court of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
They were found guilty of using fraudulent documents to get more than $1 million worth of luxury cars, jewelry and other lavish goods.
Kingston cried out to federal agents at the end of his trial as his mom was taken back into custody, “Protect my mother,” local outlet WPLG reported at the time.
Judge David Leibowitz sentenced Turner last month to five years in prison. Kingston’s sentence also includes three years of supervised release.
Kingston and his mother were arrested in May 2024 after a SWAT team raided Kingston’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale.
Turner was taken into custody during the raid, while Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert, where he was performing.
According to court records, Kingston used social media from April 2023 to March 2024 to arrange purchases of high-end merchandise.
After negotiating deals, Kingston would invite the sellers to one of his luxury Florida homes and promise to feature them and their products on social media.
Investigators said that when it came time to pay, Kingston or his mother would text the victims fake wire receipts for the luxury merchandise, which included a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade, watches and a 19-foot LED TV, investigators said.
When the funds never cleared, victims often contacted Kingston and Turner repeatedly, but were either never paid or received money only after filing lawsuits or contacting police.
Kingston shot to fame at age 17 with the 2007 hit “Beautiful Girls,” which laid his lyrics over Ben E. King’s 1961 song “Stand By Me.”
