Rapper Sean Kingston gets 3.5 year prison sentence for $1 million fraud scheme
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Paul Anderson, and his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, were each convicted by a federal jury in March of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. U.S. Judge David Leibowitz sentenced Turner last month to five years in prison.
The same judge sentenced Kingston, who was immediately taken into custody. Leibowitz also ordered that a restitution hearing should be held within 90 days. Kingston's sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court records, Kingston used social media from April 2023 to March 2024 to arrange purchases of high-end merchandise.
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Kingston, 35, 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 high-end 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.
Sean Kingston, right, and his mother Janice Turner arrive at the 40th anniversary American Music Awards, Nov. 18, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Investigators said that when it came time to pay, Kingston or his mother would text the victims fake wire receipts for the luxury merchandise, which included a bulletproof Escalade, watches and a 19-foot (5.9-meter) 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.
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.'
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