Sean Kingston and his mother Janice Turner were both just formally indicted by Florida authorities on charges connected with an alleged $1 million wire fraud scheme. If convicted, both Kingston and his mother could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Kingston and his mother were charged with five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their alleged roles in a scheme that involved defrauding sellers of high-priced goods, including jewelry and specialty vehicles, with forged documents. The two were arrested on the charges In California back in May, but the indictment comes from Florida, where his mother has been living in a rented Fort Lauderdale mansion. That house was raided by authorities shortly after the arrest of his mother last month.
The United States Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida's press statement has more details on the allegations against Kingston and Turner:
"According to allegations in the indictment, the defendants unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers as payment for vehicles, jewelry, and other goods purchased by the defendants, when in fact no such bank wire or other monetary payment transfers had been executed by the purported banks, and thereafter the defendants retained or attempted to retain the vehicles, jewelry and other goods despite non-payment. Through the execution of this scheme, the defendants obtained in excess of $1 million in property."
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The raid on Kingston's South Florida mansion took place after some of the victims of the scheme filed suit against Kingston with allegations of not paying for luxury items. But, the evidence uncovered went beyond any civil dispute and is now leading to the potential of serious prison time. An attorney representing the plaintiff characterized Kingston's alleged scheme as "basically a script, he says that he works with Justin Bieber, and obviously puts on a big show here, this is a rental house, he doesn't own it, and he lures people using his celebrity into having them release things without him paying for it and then he simply never pays."
Kingston himself has made no public comment about the case as of this writing.
Sean's career began with the release of his debut single "Beautiful Girls" in 2007. The song became a worldwide hit and topped charts in several countries. This success launched his self-titled debut album, which included other popular tracks like "Me Love" and "Take You There." He followed up with albums "Tomorrow" in 2009 and "Back 2 Life" in 2013, collaborating with artists like Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and T.I.
Throughout his career, Kingston has faced challenges, including a serious jet ski accident in 2011 that temporarily halted his music activities. He has also dealt with financial and legal issues even before his latest arrest.
