Latest news with #DavidLeibowitz
News.com.au
an hour 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.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Singer Sean Kingston sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for $1 million fraud scheme
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Singer Sean Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison Friday after being convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme in which he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxury items that he then never paid for. 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 U.S. Judge David Leibowitz handed down Kingston's sentence, the singer apologized to the judge in the South Florida courtroom and said he had learned from his actions. His attorney asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but the judge ordered him taken into custody immediately. Kingston, who was wearing a black suit and white shirt, removed his suit jacket and was handcuffed and led from the courtroom. Assistant U.S. 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 yearslong 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. Defense attorney Zeljka Bozanic countered that the 35-year-old Kingston had the mentality of a teenager — the age he was when he vaulted to stardom. The attorney 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 has already started paying back his victims and intends to pay back every cent once he is free and can 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-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, 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.' David Fischer, The Associated Press
CTV News
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Singer Sean Kingston sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for US$1 million fraud scheme
Sean Kingston arrives at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards in Los Angeles, on Nov. 18, 2012. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Singer Sean Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison Friday after being convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme in which he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxury items that he then never paid for. 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 U.S. Judge David Leibowitz handed down Kingston's sentence, the singer apologized to the judge in the South Florida courtroom and said he had learned from his actions. His attorney asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but the judge ordered him taken into custody immediately. Kingston, who was wearing a black suit and white shirt, removed his suit jacket and was handcuffed and led from the courtroom. Assistant U.S. 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 yearslong 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 attorney Zeljka Bozanic countered that the 35-year-old Kingston had the mentality of a teenager -- the age he was when he vaulted to stardom. The attorney 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 has already started paying back his victims and intends to pay back every cent once he is free and can 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-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, 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.' By David Fischer.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Beautiful Girls' rapper Sean Kingston sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for $1 million fraud scheme
An attorney for Kingston says he's "taking this as a learning experience and will continue moving forward in a positive direction." Sean Kingston, the rapper and singer behind songs such as "Beautiful Girls" and "Take You There," has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his role in a $1 million fraud scheme. Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, was convicted of wire fraud in March, following a federal trial. He and his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, were each found guilty on five counts related to the crime, and they faced up to 20 years in prison for each count. Turner was sentenced to five years behind bars in July. At Kingston's sentencing Friday, he apologized before U.S Judge David Leibowitz made his ruling and said that he had learned a lesson, according to the Associated Press. His attorney requested that Kingston, 35, be allowed to leave and to surrender at a later date for health reasons, but the judge refused and Kingston was taken into custody immediately. Kingston's defense attorney, Zeljka Bozanic, said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, "We respect the Court's decision and the judicial process. We are content that the Court did not go with the government's request of five years and sentenced Sean below the sentencing guidelines instead. It is important to note that most of the restitution in this case was paid back, even before these charges were brought." Bozanic added, "Sean is taking this as a learning experience and will continue moving forward in a positive direction. We are actively reviewing all available options, including potential appeals, to ensure his rights are fully protected."Kingston was arrested last year in Fort Irwin, Calif., following a raid of his South Florida home. In a subsequent indictment, federal prosecutors alleged that he and his mother "unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers as payment for vehicles, jewelry, and other goods purchased by the defendants, when in fact no such bank wire or other monetary payment transfers had been executed by the purported banks, and thereafter the defendants retained or attempted to retain the vehicles, jewelry and other goods despite non-payment. Through the execution of this scheme, the defendants obtained in excess of $1 million in property." As an artist, Kingston has released four albums, most recently 2022's Road to Deliverance, and has also collaborated with fellow musicians such as Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and Chris Brown. In September 2022, he spoke with about the massive success he's experienced with "Beautiful Girls," which has been streamed more than 1 billion times on YouTube. "So blessed. It feels amazing," Kingston said. "It feels like I created something I always wanted to: timeless music. I am always going to create something with the intention that it's going to be around for ages and something that people are always going to remember. A billion views that's something a lot of people don't have, so it's definitely a great milestone." Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rapper Sean Kingston sentenced to three and half years for fraud scheme involving his mother
Rapper Sean Kingston has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for a fraud scheme involving his mother. Kingston, 35, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, were convicted in March in a Florida federal court of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They were found guilty of using fraudulent documents to get more than $1 million worth of luxury cars, jewelry and other lavish goods. Kingston cried out to federal agents at the end of his trial as his mom was taken back into custody, 'Protect my mother,' local outlet WPLG reported at the time. Judge David Leibowitz sentenced Turner last month to five years in prison. Kingston's sentence also includes three years of supervised release. 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 high-end merchandise. After negotiating deals, Kingston would invite the sellers to one of his luxury 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 luxury merchandise, which included a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade, watches and a 19-foot 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 police. Kingston 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.'
