On Friday evening, a federal jury found musician and rapper Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, guilty of all charges in their luxury fraud scheme trial. The jury determined that they were guilty of all charges.
After the verdict was announced, Turner was taken into custody without delay. The court cited her prior criminal background and her role in the plan as contributing factors in his decision to take her into custody.
He referred to her as the “operator, fixer, and accountant” who was ultimately responsible for the illegal activities. During the time that she was being led away, she blew a kiss to her daughter, who responded by mouthing, “I love you.”
The 35-year-old Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, was placed under house arrest immediately and will remain there until his sentencing.
The request that he travel to Texas for a concert that was supposed to take place there was denied by the judge, who stated, “He’s not going to Texas.”
Using Kingston’s heart problems and asthma as arguments, his counsel argued against keeping him in jail until the sentencing would be handed down. Kingston’s sister is posting $200,000 in order to have him released, and his aunt is pledging her home as security in order to guarantee his release.
Those who brought charges against Kingston and Turner referred to them as “masters of deception and fraud.”
Each of the accusations against the two individuals carries a potential term of twenty years in prison, and they were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud as well as four counts of wire fraud.
Approximately three hours were required for the jury to reach a decision.
Evidence from the trial and the scheme
The prosecution asserted that Kingston and Turner were responsible for a plan that involved the acquisition of high-end products without paying for them. These items included a wall-sized television, jewelry, expensive watches, and a luxury athletic vehicle.
In May, as part of the investigation, the Broward Sheriff’s Office conducted a search warrant at the residence of Kingston, which was located in Southwest Ranches, Florida.
The evidence that the authorities presented demonstrated that the two individuals had utilized forged wire transfer receipts as evidence of payment. It was a text message that Kingston sent to his mother that had the following information: “I told you to make [a] fake receipt,” followed by the phrase “so it [looks] like the transfer will be there in a couple of days.” This was an important piece of evidence.
While the attorneys for Turner were presenting their final arguments, they asserted that the purported victims were “fraudsters” themselves.
The attorney for Kingston made an effort to differentiate his client’s public image from his personal finances by referring to him as “a soft guy who grew up poor when he rose to fame overnight.” He also stated that his client had “no idea how to run a business [and] no idea how much money is in his bank account.”
On May 23, 2024, Kingston was taken into custody for the first time at Fort Irwin, which is an Army training base located in the Mojave Desert of California. He was performing at the time. He voluntarily gave up his right to contest his extradition, and he was taken back to Florida.
Coming up is the sentencing
Turner’s hearing is planned to take place at nine in the morning on Friday, July 11, and Kingston’s hearing is slated to take place at eleven in the morning.
Not only are the two facing accusations at the federal level, but they are also facing charges at the state level.
Kingston is a Jamaican American artist who first gained widespread recognition with his hit single “Beautiful Girls” published in 2007. Subsequently, he worked with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”
Rapper Sean Kingston, mother found guilty in federal fraud case.
