Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother stole more than $1 million through fraud, authorities say

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Rapper and singer Sean Kingston and his mother committed more than $1 million in fraud in recent months, stealing cash, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture, according to documents released Friday.

Kingston, 34, and his 61-year-old mother, Janice Turner, were charged with 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 men were arrested Thursday after a SWAT team searched Kingston’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale. Turner was arrested during the raid, while Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, a military training base in California’s Mojave Desert, where he was performing.

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 prison awaiting return to Florida.

Robert Rosenblatt, the lawyer for the Jamaican-American artist and his mother, said Friday that Kingston would return voluntarily if allowed, “which would save the state the extradition costs and travel expenses of detectives and Sean”.

His mother was being held Friday at the Broward County Jail on $160,000 bail.

“We look forward to responding to these (charges) in court and are confident of a successful resolution for Shawn and his mother,” Rosenblatt said.

Specific details of Kingston and Turner’s alleged crimes are not included in the arrest warrants, but documents indicate that between October and March, they stole nearly $500,000 worth of jewelry, more than $200,000 from the Bank of America, $160,000 to Escalade dealership, over $100,000 to First. Republic Bank, $86,000 from the custom bed manufacturer and other smaller amounts.

Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already on probation for two years for dealing in stolen property. No additional information about this conviction could be found.

According to federal court records, his mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing more than $160,000 and served nearly a year and a half in prison.

The two men were also prosecuted.

In 2015, a custom watch seller successfully sued Kingston and his mother in New York federal court for $356,000 after they failed to pay.

In 2018, a New York jeweler successfully sued the two men for $301,000 after defrauding the store of nine items.

Most recently, a Florida entertainment systems company sued Kingston in February, claiming he failed to pay $120,000 of a $150,000 bill for a 232-inch (5.8-meter) television. installed at his home. The TV measures approximately 17 feet by 9.5 feet (5 meters by 3 meters) and covers one wall.

He allegedly told the owners that if they gave him a low deposit and credit, he and Bieber would do commercials for them. That never happened and Kingston never paid, according to the lawsuit.

The company’s lawyer says Bieber had no involvement: Kingston was using his name falsely.