Fame-addicted singer and mum jailed over fraud scheme
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News.com.au
16 hours ago
- News.com.au
Sean Kingston sentenced to 3.5 years in prison after fraud scheme conviction
Sean Kingston has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for his role in a $1 million fraud scheme. On Friday, before US Judge David Leibowitz handed down Kingston's sentence in a South Florida courtroom, the rapper, 35, apologised and claimed he had learned from his actions, according to the Associated Press, per Page Six. However, Leibowitz denied Kingston's attorney's request to self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, instead ordering the musician to be taken into custody immediately. Kingston, who was wearing a black suit and white shirt, removed his jacket to be handcuffed and was escorted out of the courtroom. In March, Kingston — born Kisean Paul Anderson — and his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Turner, 63, was sentenced last month to five years in prison, which is far less than the maximum 20 years she and her son were each facing. Immediately after being convicted, Kingston — who was allowed to await sentencing at home, while his mum was deemed a flight risk and taken into custody right away — teared up as he asked the US Marshals to 'protect' her. Prosecutors accused the mother-son duo of having 'unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers as payment for vehicles, jewellery and other goods purchased by the defendants' without actually having sent any funds. During the trial, Turner admitted to handling her son's finances irresponsibly. She also confessed to creating fake wire transfers. Kingston was arrested in California in May 2024 after a SWAT team raided his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home; Turner was arrested during the raid. 'People love negative energy!' the Beautiful Girls artist told his Instagram followers at the time. 'I am good and so is my mother! … my lawyers are handling everything as we speak.'
Canberra Times
20 hours ago
- Canberra Times
Fame-addicted singer and mum jailed over fraud scheme
US singer Sean Kingston has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of a $US1 million ($A1.5 million) fraud scheme in which he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxury items without being paid.
Perth Now
20 hours ago
- Perth Now
Fame-addicted singer and mum jailed over fraud scheme
US singer Sean Kingston has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of a $US1 million ($A1.5 million) fraud scheme in which he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxury items without being paid. Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Paul Anderson, and his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, were convicted in March by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Turner was sentenced to five years in prison last month. Before US Judge David Leibowitz handed down Kingston's sentence, the singer apologised to the judge in the South Florida courtroom and said he had learned from his actions. Assistant US Attorney Marc Anton described Kingston as someone addicted to his celebrity lifestyle even though he could no longer afford to maintain it. "He clearly doesn't like to pay and relies on his celebrity status to defraud his victims," Anton said Friday. The federal prosecutor described a years-long pattern by Kingston of bullying victims for luxury merchandise and then refusing to pay. "He is a thief and a conman, plain and simple," Anton said. Defence lawyer Zeljka Bozanic countered that the 35-year-old had the mentality of a teenager - the age he was when he vaulted to stardom. The lawyer said Kingston had almost no knowledge of his finances, relying on business managers and his mother. "No one showed him how to invest his money," Bozanic said. "Money went in and money went out on superficial things." Bozanic said Kingston had started paying back his victims and intended to repay every cent once he was free and could start working again. Leibowitz rejected the idea that Kingston was unintelligent or naive, but the judge said he gave Kingston credit for accepting responsibility and declining to testify rather than possibly lying in court. That was in contrast to Kingston's mother, whose trial testimony Leibowitz described as obstruction. Kingston and his mother were arrested in May 2024 after a SWAT team raided Kingston's rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale. Turner was taken into custody during the raid, while Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California's Mojave Desert, where he was performing. According to court records, Kingston used social media from April 2023 to March 2024 to arrange purchases of luxury merchandise. After negotiating deals, Kingston would invite the sellers to one of his high-end Florida homes and promise to feature them and their products on social media. Investigators said that when it came time to pay, Kingston or his mother would text the victims fake wire receipts for the items, which included a bulletproof Escalade, watches and a 19-foot (5.9-metre) LED TV, investigators said. When the funds never cleared, victims often contacted Kingston and Turner repeatedly, but were either never paid or received money only after filing lawsuits or contacting law enforcement, authorities said. Kingston, who was born in Florida and raised in Jamaica, shot to fame at age 17 with the 2007 hit Beautiful Girls, which laid his lyrics over Ben E. King's 1961 song Stand By Me. His other hits include 2007's Take You There and 2009's Fire Burning.
