Miami — rapper, singer Sean Kingston and His mother He was indicted on federal charges in South Florida for allegedly defrauding more than $1 million.
Kingston, 34, and his mother, Janice Turner, 61, made their initial appearance in federal court on Friday, according to court records. A Miami grand jury handed up an indictment earlier this month alleging that Kingston and his mother engaged in a scheme to use false documents to defraud people of luxury specialty vehicles, jewelry and other items.
Kingston is Reserved Turner was arrested on May 23 while performing at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert, and was booked into Broward County Jail last month on similar state charges. Turner was arrested the same day as her son, when SWAT teams raided Turner’s rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
According to the federal indictment, Kingston and Turner falsely claimed to have executed bank wires and other financial transfers to purchase luxury goods when in fact no such transfers occurred. Investigators say Kingston and Turner then kept more than $1 million in fraudulently purchased goods without paying for them.
According to the state indictment, between October and March, the perpetrators stole $500,000 worth of jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade dealership, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 from a custom bed manufacturer.
The Jamaican-American singer had a number one hit in 2007 with “Beautiful Girls” and collaborated with Justin Bieber on “Eenie Meenie.”
Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment. He has previously said he looked forward to the resolution of the charges and is “confident that a resolution will be successful.”
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already serving two years probation for trafficking in stolen property.
His mother pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006 for stealing more than $160,000 and served about a year and a half in prison, according to federal court records.
