— Rapper and singer Sean Kingston, along with his mother, Janice Turner, have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly committing over $1 million worth of fraud in South Florida. Kingston, 34, and his 61-year-old mother made their initial court appearances on Friday, following a Miami grand jury indictment earlier this month. The indictment accuses the duo of orchestrating a scheme to defraud victims by using fraudulent documents to obtain high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry, and other goods.
The indictment claims that Kingston and Turner falsely asserted they had completed bank wire transfers or other monetary payments for the luxury items, but no such transactions had taken place. Investigators allege they retained over $1 million worth of goods despite not paying for them. Kingston was previously arrested on state charges at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California, where he was performing on May 23.
He was later booked into Broward County jail. Turner was arrested on the same day during a SWAT team raid at Kingston’s rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The state warrants detail that from October to March, the pair allegedly stole nearly $500,000 in jewellery, over $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade dealer, over $100,000 from First Republic Bank, and $86,000 from a custom bed manufacturer.
Sean Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, is known for his 2007 hit “Beautiful Girls” and his collaboration with Justin Bieber on “Eenie Meenie.” Kingston was already on probation for trafficking stolen property. Kingston’s attorney, Robert Rosenblatt, did not immediately respond to a request for comment but previously expressed confidence in a successful resolution of the charges.
Janice Turner has a prior conviction for bank fraud in 2006, for which she served nearly 1.5 years in prison. The case continues to develop as Kingston and Turner prepare to face these serious allegations in federal court.
Source: AP.
