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
-
AG to introduce Legal Practitioners Standard Board Bill in Parliament
5 minutes -
AG proposes Bar Welfare Fund to provide social protection for lawyers
9 minutes -
No conditions attached: Rethinking Ghana’s duty of care for citizens in crisis abroad
10 minutes -
GES opens applications for non-teaching staff promotion; here’s who qualifies
24 minutes -
What Is Wrong With Us: We fly halfway around the world to admire discipline, then fly home to tolerate chaos
27 minutes -
Discipline must not become abuse in raising children – ARK Foundation
34 minutes -
Photos: Culture, technology and cuisine take centre stage at Russia’s youth festival
35 minutes -
‘Who approved Laboma structures?’ – Victoria Bright calls for review of permitting system
41 minutes -
“The Darkest Chapter”: Latif Abubakar’s 21st production brings President Mahama’s UN reckoning to the National Theatre stage
44 minutes -
Teacher, three others investigated over alleged kidnapping of suspected MoMo fraudster in Kumasi
45 minutes -
Afenyo-Markin mourns Bernice Offei, describes her songs as ‘sermons set to music’
45 minutes -
Don’t just learn AI tools, use them to improve productivity – ALX Enterprise
52 minutes -
Free rabies vaccination campaign targets 25,000 dogs and cats nationwide
59 minutes -
Ghana needs a system to track child protection funding to where risks are highest – ARK Foundation
1 hour -
AI may not replace humans, but workers who fail to adapt could lose jobs – ALX Enterprise
1 hour