Sean Kingston has been accused of defrauding as much as $1 million from several companies, including a jeweler and an exotic car dealer.
Prosecutors allege Kingston, 34, and his mother Janice Turner, 61, committed more than $1 million in fraud in recent months, stealing cash, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture, documents released Friday allege.
The mother and son are accused of carrying out an organized scheme to commit fraud, grand larceny, identity theft and related crimes, according to arrest warrants issued by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
The two were arrested Thursday after a SWAT team raided Kingston’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale. Turner was arrested 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 the arrest warrant, they are charged with a total of 10 charges related to the raid.
Prosecutors allege Sean Kingston, 34, and his mother Janice Turner, 61, committed more than $1 million in fraud in recent months
Turner was released on a $160,000 bond. She pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006 for stealing more than $160,000 and served almost 1.5 years in prison.
The duo allegedly never paid for a Cadillac Escalade worth $159,701.49 and $480,000 in jewelry.
The rest of the charges are related to bank fraud and writing bad checks.
Kingston is also accused of stealing a custom bed valued at $86,568.33, as reported by TMZ.
Kingston, who had a No. 1 hit with Beautiful Girls in 2007 and performed with Justin Bieber on the song Eenie Meenie, is being held in a California jail pending his return to Florida.
Robert Rosenblatt, the lawyer for the Jamaican-American performer and his mother, said Friday that Kingston would return voluntarily if allowed, “which would save the state the costs of extradition and the travel expenses for the investigators and Sean.”
Turner was released on a $160,000 bond.
Broward Sheriff’s Office personnel move items in the garage of Sean Kingston’s Southwest Ranches, Florida, home
The extent of the raid (pictured) has not been confirmed, but Kingston is currently embroiled in a legal battle over stolen goods
Court documents show that from October to March, mother and son stole nearly $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from the Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank, $86,000 from the maker of custom beds and other smaller amounts.
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already on two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property. No further information about this conviction could be found.
According to federal court records, his mother pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006 for stealing more than $160,000 and he served nearly 1.5 years in prison.
The two have also been sued by several companies.
In 2015, a custom watch seller successfully sued Kingston and his mother in federal court in New York City for $356,000 after they failed to pay.
In 2018, a New York jeweler successfully sued the two for $301,000 after defrauding the store of nine items.
More recently, a Florida entertainment system company sued Kingston in February, alleging he failed to pay $120,000 of a $150,000 bill for a 232-inch television he installed in his home. The TV is approximately 5 by 3 meters and covers a wall.
The Colossal TV costs about $150,000
Kingston’s mother Janice Turner is released on bail in the fraud case against the couple, seen here in 2012
He allegedly told the owners that if they gave him a low down payment and credit, he and Bieber would advertise for them. That never happened and Kingston never paid, the lawsuit said.
The company’s lawyer says Bieber wasn’t involved; Kingston incorrectly used his name.
In the late 2000s, Kingston was one of the biggest names in hip-hop thanks to his collaborations with Justin Bieber, Dr. Dre and Nicki Minaj, not to mention his big hit Beautiful Girls.
But his star has declined somewhat since then, as he hasn’t had a major label release in over a decade. His 2022 album Road to Deliverance failed to chart.
The singer was born in 1990 as Kisean Paul Anderson in Miami. In his youth, he moved to Jamaica with his family before returning to Florida for high school in his teens.
Meanwhile, Sean remains in San Bernardino County Jail in California awaiting extradition to Florida after being arrested on the same warrant as his mother following his concert at Fort Irwin, pictured in 2019.
The case alleges that Kingston bought the TV on credit with a low down payment because he promised the seller, Ver Ver Entertainment, which sells the $150,000 TV sets under the Colossal TV brand, that Justin Bieber would advertise it would make, as shown here. 2010
She spent four days behind bars after the raid on her son’s Florida mansion last week
He was seriously injured in 2011 when he was on a jet ski with a woman and crashed into a bridge. He was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, where he was treated for 11 days.
During that stay, the doctor discovered that Kingston had suffered a ruptured aorta, which required emergency surgery. He later said the procedure saved his life.
In the aftermath, Kingston had to pay a $180 fine after being accused of “carelessness” while operating the jet ski.