Rapper Sean Kingston 'Cries' In Court As He And His Mother Are Found Guilty Of Over $1M Fraud

Yahoo

29-03-2025

Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, have been found guilty of orchestrating a fraud scheme that cost victims more than $1 million.
While the ruling was read out, the rapper reportedly broke down in tears and pleaded with U.S. Marshalls to "protect my mother."
Sean Kingston will remain in home detention until their sentencing date of July 11, while Janice Turner remains in custody because the judge regards her as a flight risk.
Kingston and his mom Turner were yesterday found guilty in federal court of committing over $1 million fraud scheme.
In their arrest warrant issued in October 2023, mother and son stood accused of defrauding a jewelry business, a luxury bed company, a used luxury and exotic car dealership, and a luxury microLED TV company.
According to the Daily Mail, federal prosecutors said they unjustly enriched themselves by falsely claiming to have sent money for high-end luxury goods, even though the payments never went through.
The elaborate con seemingly enriched them to the tune of over $1 million in property, including ripping off a car dealer for a $160K Cadillac Escalade and jewelers for $480K worth of jewelry, as well as a furniture company, all without paying.
A jury found them guilty of all five charges leveled against them, with each of them facing up to 20 years in jail for each count.
According to TMZ, Kingston was visibly emotional during the proceedings as he reportedly "cried" as the jury delivered the damning verdict.
He's said to have pleaded with U.S. Marshalls to "protect my mother" when she was being escorted out of court.
The 62-year-old would remain in custody until they're both sentenced on July 11 because the judge sees her as a flight risk, while Kingston would stay in home detention.
The pair were originally arrested last May in Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California's Mojave Desert where Kingston was performing, on a warrant issued by the Broward Sheriff's Office.
They later had their arraignment hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra in August but pleaded not guilty.
Kingston became much of a household name after his "Beautiful Girls" song hit the number-one spot in 2007, before collaborating with Justin Bieber on the 2010 song "Eenie Meenie."
Turner seems to be a mother who'll put everything on the line for her child, including her freedom, as she admitted to carrying out the acts to "protect" Kingston.
According to NBC Miami, when she took to the stand on day four of their trial, she admitted to sending fake wires from her bank account to pay people but claimed that it was all an attempt to protect him from being taken advantage of.
Turner said she handles all of her son's business transactions and admitted to sending fake bank wires because he'd been taken advantage of before.
She described herself as a "nonsense mother" and claimed that it'd always been her intention to pay back any debts.
Kingston's defense team attempted to argue that he was "a child" and was seemingly unaware of the fraudulent activities as he didn't understand his finances.
At the same time, they described Turner as a "fixer" and the "nerve center" of the criminal enterprise.
However, the jury found these arguments unconvincing and convicted them both.
This is not their first run-in with the law, as Kingston was already on two years probation for trafficking stolen property before his arrest.
According to Federal Court records, Turner pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000 and served nearly 1.5 years in prison.
They've also been sued by various businesses, including in 2015 when a customized watch vendor sued them in a New York City federal court for $356,000 after failing to pay, per the Daily Mail.
Again, in 2018, a New York jeweler successfully sued them for $301,000 after they scammed the store of nine items. A
Florida-based entertainment systems company also sued the singer in February for failing to pay $120,000 of a $150,000 bill for a 232-inch television it installed in his home.