Sean Kingston, Mom Found Guilty in Massive Fraud Case
Sean Kingston, the famous singer of “Beautiful Girls,” along with his mother, Janice Turner, has been found guilty of fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal trial.
The singer, who is 35 years old and legally known as Kisean Anderson, was on house arrest under electronic monitoring, while Turner was sent into custody. The singer is also required to post a surety bond on a house worth $500,000 and $200,000 in cash, according to NBC6 South Florida. They are set to be sentenced on July 11.
The trial started on Monday, March 24, and closing arguments wrapped up on Friday, March 28. On three and a half hours of deliberation, the jury of the case declared the verdict, per NBC6.
Kingston, who did not testify for the trial, and his mother were convicted of defrauding a handful of businesses, including various jewelers, a television installment company, and a high-end car dealership. Prosecutors charged that they obtained over $1 million in goods.
At the option of the judge, Turner was considered to be a flight risk partly due to the fact she had testified, Local10 stated. In video released by the outlet, Kingston was heard pleading with U.S. Marshall agents to “protect my mother” as he was led out of the courthouse.
Moshe Edery, the Fort Lauderdale jeweler, testified during the trial that his credibility was tarnished after Kingston failed to transfer $285,000 to him, NBC6 reported on Thursday, March 27.
“That’s what this is. I’m being scammed,” was Edery’s testimony on the stand.
The two were arrested in May 2024 and faced their first court appearance in July. They are each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and five counts of wire fraud. According to the indictment, in Turner, an expectation of an honest deal would go with deliveries and wiring of funds, the transfer would instead be a fraudulent one. The contrivance went on for a span of several years.
The defense countered that the prosecution had no evidence that Turner and Kingston had any intent to commit fraud and claimed that some of the alleged victims had recovered their money and goods, NBC6 reported during the trial.
Born in Miami, the singer grew up in Jamaica, blowing up the international scene with his 2007 hit “Beautiful Girls.” His breakthrough continued in the 2010s, including his collaboration with Justin Bieber and an appearance on Disney Channel’s Suite Life on Deck.
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