Audio By Carbonatix
Rapper and singer Sean Kingston and his mother have been indicted in South Florida on federal charges of committing more than $1 million worth of fraud.
Kingston, 34, and his mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, made their first appearances Friday in federal court, according to court records. A Miami grand jury returned an indictment earlier this month accusing Kingston and his mother of participating in a scheme to defraud victims of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods through the use of fraudulent documents.
Kingston was booked into the Broward County jail on similar state charges last month following a May 23 arrest at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing. Turner was arrested the same day as her son, when a SWAT team raided his rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
According to the federal indictment, Kingston and Turner falsely claimed that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers for high-end items when no such transfers had taken place. Investigators said Kingston and Turner then kept over $1 million worth of fraudulently purchased items despite not paying for them.
The warrants for the state charges say that from October to March, they stole almost $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from a Cadilac Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 from the maker of customized beds.
The Jamaican American performer had a No. 1 hit with “Beautiful Girls” in 2007 and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”
Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment from The Associated Press. He previously said they looked forward to addressing the charges and were “confident of a successful resolution.”
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already serving a two-year probation sentence for trafficking stolen property.
His mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000 and served nearly 1.5 years in prison, according to federal court records.
Latest Stories
-
Middle East turmoil threatens to derail Ghana’s single-digit gains
10 minutes -
Free-scoring Semenyo takes burden off Haaland
10 minutes -
Explainer: Why did the US attack Iran?
18 minutes -
Peaky Blinders to The Bride!: 10 of the best films to watch in March
48 minutes -
Crude oil price crosses $91 as Strait of Hormuz blockade chokes 22% of global supply
1 hour -
Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University records 17% admission surge; launches region’s first cosmetology laboratory
2 hours -
Over 50 students hospitalised after horror crash ends sports tournament
2 hours -
Accra–Dubai flights cancelled as Middle East tensions deepen
3 hours -
See the areas that will be affected by ECG’s planned maintenance from March 1-5
3 hours -
Kane scores twice as Bayern beat rivals Dortmund
4 hours -
Lamine Yamal hits first hat-trick in Barcelona win
4 hours -
Iran says US and Israel strikes hit school killing 108
4 hours -
What we know so far: Supreme Leader Khamenei killed, Trump says, as Iran launches retaliatory strikes
5 hours -
Trump says Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dead after US-Israeli attacks
5 hours -
Ghana cautions nationals against non-essential travel to and from the Middle East as tensions escalate
7 hours
