Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, have been convicted of federal wire fraud charges.
On Friday, a jury found the “Beautiful Girls” singer and his mom guilty of all charges against them following a five-day trial, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY. They faced one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud.
Turner was remanded into U.S. Marshals custody, and the judge recommended her incarceration at the Miami Federal Detention Center until her sentencing. Kingston − whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson − will have his bond terms modified to include home detention with electronic monitoring, with $200,000 cash to be turned over to the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida.
Kingston, 35, and Turner are scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. Each count has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
USA TODAY has reached out to Turner and Kingston’s lawyers for comment.
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Their state charges: Sean Kingston and his mom committed $1 million in fraud and theft, sheriffs say
Sean Kingston used ‘celebrity status’ in fraud, never paid for cars and jewelry: US attorneys
According to the mother and son’s July indictment, the duo conspired to commit wire fraud between April 2023 and March 2024. In other words, they showed intent to “defraud and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.”
The indictment claimed Kingston and Turner sought to “unjustly enrich themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers as payment for vehicles, jewelry, and other goods.” They were accused of keeping the items despite never paying for them.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida also alleges Kingston leveraged “his celebrity status” and “often persuaded his victim vendors to stray from their regular business practices and convinced them to either supply or deliver their goods and services prior to receipt of full payment.”
Some of their ill-gotten gains included three watches, which involved fake wire transfers for $285,000 and $480,000; a $160,000 car; and $40,000 worth of audio/video equipment.
The two still face state-level charges in Florida, and their cases have yet to go to trial. They are accused of carrying out a defrauding scheme, committing grand theft and fraudulently using individuals’ personal information to obtain services.
From October 2023 through March 2024, the Broward Sheriff’s Office alleges, Kingston and his mother participated in “a systemic, ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud one or more persons, or with intent to obtain property from one or more persons by false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises or willful representations of a future act.”
