Singer Sean Kingston sentenced to 3.5 years for RM4.2mil fraud scheme
Months after being convicted of a high-end fraud scheme in South Florida, Grammy-winning singer Sean Kingston was sentenced on Friday to three-and-a-half years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Kingston had asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but Florida Judge David Leibowitz ordered the 35-year-old Beautiful Girls crooner to be taken into custody and begin serving his sentence immediately.
In March, Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, were each convicted by a federal jury on four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Authorities charged them with spearheading an organized scheme to defraud multiple luxury companies out of high-end goods.
'The defendants unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers … [then] retained or attempted to retain the vehicles, jewelry and other goods despite non-payment,' federal prosecutors said at the time. 'Through the execution of this scheme, the defendants obtained in excess of US$1mil in property.'
Turner was arrested during a SWAT raid on her son's Florida home in May 2024. Hours later, Kingston was taken into custody in California.
Late last month, Turner received a five-year prison sentence with three years of probation. After her time is served, she'll face deportation back to her native Jamaica.
At Friday's hearing, before handing down his sentence, Leibowitz told Kingston he considered his mother's crimes to be more egregious.
Turner had admitted to sending fake bank wires and other falsified documents, but claimed she did so to protect her son from being taken advantage of by scammers and give herself time to look into the people they did business with. She said she had always intended to pay back their debts.
Kingston on Friday expressed remorse to the court for his part in the crimes.
'I apologise, I apologise, I've learned from my actions,' he said. 'All I'm asking for is to accept my apology to the court.'
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton called the former chart-topper 'a thief through and through.'
A restitution hearing was scheduled for October, according to NBC Miami. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
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