Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston has been sentenced to 3 and a half years in federal jail for his function in a $1 million fraud scheme that additionally concerned his mom, Janice Turner.
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Kingston may also serve three years of supervised launch following his jail time period. Turner was sentenced in July to 5 years in jail.
Kingston, whose authorized title is Kisean Anderson, and Turner have been convicted final March by a federal jury on expenses of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 4 counts of wire fraud.
The pair have been arrested in Might 2024 after a SWAT workforce raided Kingston’s rented mansion in Southwest Ranches, Florida. Turner was taken into custody throughout the raid, whereas Kingston was later apprehended at Fort Irwin, an Military coaching base in California, the place he was performing. He waived his proper to struggle extradition and was returned to Florida.
In accordance with federal prosecutors, Kingston and Turner orchestrated a scheme to accumulate high-end objects—together with a luxurious SUV, jewellery, costly watches, and a wall-sized TV—with out paying for them. They allegedly supplied false wire switch receipts to make it seem as if funds had been accomplished, however investigators confirmed the transfers by no means occurred.
A key piece of proof included a textual content message from Kingston to his mom instructing her to create a pretend receipt, writing: “I informed you to make [a] pretend receipt… so it [looks] just like the switch might be there in a pair [of] days.” Prosecutors stated the scheme allowed the pair to retain greater than $1 million in items and property with out paying.
Kingston’s legal professional sought to humanize the rapper, describing him as “a tender man who grew up poor when he rose to fame in a single day,” and stated he had “no thought how one can run a enterprise [and] no thought how a lot cash is in his checking account.” The jury reached its verdict in about three hours.
Along with federal expenses, Kingston and Turner are going through separate state fraud expenses.
