Latest news with #Escala
CNA
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNA
Singer Sean Kingston sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for US$1 million fraud scheme
Singer Sean Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison Friday (Aug 15) after being convicted of a US$1 million (S$1.28 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 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. 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 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 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 19ft (5.9m) 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.
Business Wire
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Escala Partners Joins Focus Partners Australia
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Focus Financial Partners Inc., an interdependent organization of wealth management, business management, and related financial services firms, today announced that its Melbourne, Australia-based network firm Escala Partners has joined Focus Partners Australia. Escala will operate alongside Focus' other businesses in Australia, which will together represent Focus Partners Australia. With offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Escala has been providing high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, not-for-profit organizations, and institutional investors with customized investment solutions and other wealth and advisory services through a collaborative, highly customized approach since 2013. 'As part of the evolution of Focus' presence in the Australian market, we are excited by the opportunity to bring Escala together with our other businesses in Australia to build a scaled, premier wealth management organization capable of delivering comprehensive services, deep expertise, and a personalized experience,' said Travis Danysh, Chief Corporate Development Officer at Focus Financial Partners. 'The addition of Escala to Focus Partners Australia is an important step towards solidifying our strong position within the Australian market through a leading operating and growth platform, capable of delivering holistic solutions to clients and their advisers.' As part of this transition, Escala has also enhanced its leadership team to include: Ben James, who has been appointed CEO at Escala. Mr. James, who is a founding partner of the firm, previously served as its Head of Advisory. Torty Howard, who has been appointed COO. Simon Dawkins, who will continue as Escala's Head of Capital Markets and Fixed Income division. In addition, Travis Danysh is expected to be named as Executive Chairman of Focus' Australian businesses, in addition to his role at Focus Financial Partners. 'Our goal at Escala has always been to redefine the meaning of excellence in wealth management,' said Mr. James. 'Joining Focus Partners Australia allows us to set the foundation for our continued growth and evolution, through which we will deliver expansive solutions and a differentiated client experience through a unified and integrated global organization.' 'The Australian market is important for us, and as we continue to align our company across the markets and clients we serve, we see great opportunity in facilitating the convergence of our Australian operations into a cohesive business that can operate with all the capabilities and resources of a scaled organization,' said Michael Nathanson, CEO of Focus Financial Partners. 'Escala joining Focus Partners Australia is an important next step in its evolution as well as the evolution of our broader company.' About Focus Financial Partners Inc. Focus is an interdependent partnership of wealth management, business management, and related financial services firms, rooted in a client-first approach and powered by the collective energy and capabilities of its many advisors and professionals. The Focus partnership includes firms operated under the Focus Partners brand that reflect the company's key business lines. Through a blend of innovative solutions, strong capital backing, and deep business expertise, Focus empowers its firms to achieve their business objectives by helping them better serve their clients and advisors. Discover more about how Focus is evolving the wealth and business management landscape by visiting or by following the company on LinkedIn. About Focus Partners Australia Focus Partners Australia, the Australian business unit of Focus Partners, offers integrated capabilities in accounting, lending, insurance and related services from its offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Guided by a client-first ethos, Focus Partners Australia leverages the global expertise, platforms and capital strength of Focus Financial Partners to deliver holistic, fiduciary guidance across strategic planning, portfolio management, insurance, credit and tax. By fusing local insight with world-class resources, Focus Partners Australia helps its clients protect, grow and transition their wealth at every life stage. About Escala Partners Founded in 2013, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Escala Partners is a premier private wealth investment and advisory group dedicated to delivering personalized, sophisticated, high-quality investment solutions to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices and institutional clients. The firm is committed to providing objective and tailored investment strategies, leveraging deep expertise and innovative technology to create long-term wealth solutions for its clients. Discover more about Escala at or on LinkedIn. © 2025 Focus Financial Partners. All rights reserved.
AU Financial Review
25-06-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Escala Partners' PE owners succeed in ending staff's 51pc interest
Ultra-wealth advice business Escala Partners' private-equity-backed owner has succeeded in getting up a vote to end staff's 51 per cent commercial interest, a vestige of its aquisition six years ago. Sources said Escala staff on Monday voted in favour of dissolving 2nd Chapter Pty, a staff-owned entity that holds the right to collect roughly half of the Melbourne-based business' revenue. The structure has been in place since 2019 when Escala was acquired by New York's Focus Financial Partners, and had ensured its top rainmakers got a slice of the revenues in perpetuity.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Cadillac Has No Plans For A Gas-Powered CT4 And CT5 In The Future: Report
Undeterred by its plans to walk back the promise of an all-electric lineup by 2030, Cadillac will still end production of the gas-powered CT4 and CT5 sedans after this generation. Right now, it would seem that a few all-electric sedans are on the table, but when these cars go away, it will almost certainly be the end of internal combustion-powered sedans at Caddy. There are apparently two electric sedans in the pipeline that are roughly the same size as the current CT5 and now-dead CT6, according to GM Authority, which first broke this story. Admittedly, these vehicles may not take the traditional three-box sedan form factor. Unnamed sources tell the outlet that they may have a sportback profile similar to the Escala concept or ultra-luxurious Celestiq. The pair of EV sedans are expected to ride on GM's upcoming BEV Prime architecture, GM Authority reports. It's supposed to be a more upscale, premium version of General Motors' BEV3 platform, which underpins the Lyriq, Optiq, Vistiq, Chevy Blazer EV and Equinox EV. Read more: The 2024 Lexus GX 550 Turned Me Into A Believer From my experience of driving some of these cars, it already feels like a rather premium platform, so it'll be exciting to see what GM engineers can do with a bespoke luxury platform. It'll certainly be interesting to see if Cadillac buyers actually want an electric sedan — or if they're going to want sedans at all. In 2024, Cadillac sold over 160,000 vehicles. Just a tick over 21,000 of those were sedans. Both the CT4 and CT5 were by far Cadillac's worst-selling models, with just 6,209 people buying a CT4 and 14,861 going for the larger CT5. It makes sense why Cadillac has so far put all of its EV eggs in the crossover basket (Celestiq notwithstanding). It's what the people want. In a statement to Jalopnik, a Cadillac spokesperson said, "In the last 12 months, Cadillac has launched six new products which have been a mix of ICE and EVs. Cadillac will continue to evolve our portfolio and offer choice to our luxury customers. We have no additional product plans to announce at this time." Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
