Sean Kingston
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesSean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turnerhave been indicted on wire fraud charges.
Kingston, 34, and Turner, 61, are accused of pressuring multiple companies to give them goods that had not yet been paid for, claiming the money for the items had been wired and was in transit.
A federal grand jury in Miami indicted both Kinsgton and Turner on five counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Both charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida claims the mother-son duo “falsely enriched themselves” to the tune of more than $1 million “by falsely claiming to have made wire transfers or other monetary payment transfers.
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“Prosecutors allege that Kingston – whose legal name is Kisean Anderson – and Turner used fraudulent documents to pressure dealers of luxury vehicles, jewelry and other luxury items to hand over goods before receiving full payment.
The “Beautiful Girls” singer was released on $10,000 bail on Friday, July 19. His mother was released the same day on $5,000 bail. They are both due in court for their next appearance on August 9.
We weekly has contacted Kingston representatives for comment.
Kingston and Turner were arrested in May on similar state charges. Turner was taken into custody following a SWAT raid on Kingston’s home in the Fort Lauderdale area and the crooner Kingston was arrested in California shortly afterwards.
Kingston is facing a civil lawsuit over a similar alleged scheme. An attorney for the plaintiff in that lawsuit told NBC 6 Miami that he uses Kingston “basically a script… and he seduces people using his celebrity to get them to release stuff without him paying for it, and then he just never pays.”
Kingston burst onto pop radio in 2007 with three hit singles from his self-titled debut album. “Beautiful Girls” and “Take You There” both reached the top 10 in the US, spending their first four weeks at No. 1.
“Fire Burning” from Kingston’s second album Tomorrow enjoyed similar success, but never again surpassed the top 10. Later collaborations with Justin Bieber (“Eenie Meenie”) and Nicki Minaj (“Letting Go (Dutty Love)”) met with moderate success. His third album, from 2013 Back 2 Lifefailed to produce singles that reached the top half of the Billboard Hot 100. His most recent album was 2022’s Road to salvation.