OAN Staff Avril Elfi
Saturday, July 20, 2024 4:17 PM
Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother were charged with wire fraud in a scheme to defraud luxury goods buyers and made their initial appearance in federal court in Florida on Friday.
advertisement
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, a grand jury indicted Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, 61, on one count of wire fraud conspiracy and five counts of wire fraud.
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
According to U.S. prosecutors, the singer and her mother are accused of falsely claiming to have completed bank transfers and other payments to pay for expensive items, including jewelry and cars.
According to state warrants, between October and March, Kingston and Turner stole about $500,000 worth of jewelry, as well as more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $100,000 from First Republic Bank, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade dealership and $86,000 from a company that makes custom beds.
Prosecutors said Kingston persuaded the companies to “deviate from their normal business practices” and deliver the goods before receiving full payment.
“He basically has a script,” said Dennis Card, an attorney who sued Kingston over stolen electronic devices. NBC 6 Miami In May, he said: “He says he’s working with Justin Bieber, and he uses his celebrity status to bait people into releasing stuff without paying them, and then he never pays them.”
Kingston was detained on state charges in May while preparing to perform at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in the Mojave Desert, the same day his mother was taken into custody during a SWAT raid on the Fort Lauderdale mansion her son was renting.
Kingston was reportedly already serving two years of probation for trafficking in stolen property, while his mother pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006 and served more than a year in prison, according to court documents.
Kingston was released on $10,000 bail and Turner on $5,000 bail on Friday, Aug. 9, according to court documents.Number A date is scheduled to appear in federal court.
Stay up to date! Receive the latest news directly in your email for free. Sign up here: https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisement below
Please share this post!
