Sean Kingston will spend three and a half years in federal prison after he was found guilty of a $1 million fraud scheme that also involved his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner.
U.S. Judge David Leibowitz handed down Kingston’s sentence in a South Florida courtroom on Friday, the Associated Press reported.
The rapper, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, and his mother were both convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud in March, according to the AP. Turner was sentenced to five years in prison in July.
Kingston and Turner were arrested in May 2024 after a SWAT team raided the 35-year-old musician’s rented mansion in Southwest Ranches, Florida. Kingston was arrested in Fort Irwin, California, where he was performing at the time, while Turner was taken into custody during the raid.
Kingston and Turner used social media from April 2023 to March 2024 to obtain luxury items without paying for them, the AP reported, citing court records. These items included a bulletproof Escalade, jewelry, expensive watches and a large LED television.
Investigators said Kingston or Turner paid for the items using fraudulent or worthless wire transfers, NBC News reported, citing the original indictment. The pair would then keep the stolen items.
Sellers started filing lawsuits or contacting law enforcement after failed attempts to contact Kingston or his mother. The scheme lasted several years until March 2024, NBC News reported. The duo is also facing separate state fraud charges on top of the federal charges, CBS News reported.
Kingston, who was born in Florida and raised in Jamaica, rose to fame when his 2007 song “Beautiful Girls” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. The single preceded Kingston’s self-titled debut album, which also contained the hit song “Take You There.” Kingston’s follow-up, 2009’s “Tomorrow,” didn’t match the success of his first album, but did produce the top five single, “Fire Burning.” His music career took a significant commercial decline afterward.
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