Rap star Sean Kingston, mother appear in South Florida federal court on wire fraud charges

Florida-born singer and rapper Sean Kingston and his mother appeared in a federal court this week to face wire fraud charges stemming from what authorities say was their involvement in a scheme to defraud sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other items.

Authorities arrested Kingston, 34, and Janice Turner, 61, following a raid of their home west of Fort Lauderdale in May. The two were each formally charged by a Miami grand jury with five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office said on Friday. Each count carries a potential sentence of 20 years in prison.

Kingston, whose real name is Kiesean Anderson, is a Jamaican-American music artist who was born in Miami. He is known for his May 2007 song “Beautiful Girls”, which became a summer anthem, staying at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.

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Kingston, his mother fraudulently obtained more then $1 million worth of property, authorities allege

According to allegations in the indictment, the mother and son 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 occurred.

Kingston and Turner either retained or attempted to retain vehicles, jewelry and other goods despite non-payment. Through the execution of this scheme, they obtained in excess of $1 million in property, federal prosecutors said.

In May, a SWAT team raided the home that Kingston rents in a neighborhood within the South Florida town of Southwest Ranches that is home to several rich families and celebrities. They arrested Turner there. Kingston himself was taken into custody in California, where he was at the time.

“People love negative energy!” Kingston briefly posted on his Instagram following his arrest. “I am good, and so is my mother! … My lawyers are handling everything as we speak.”

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: South Florida rapper Sean Kingston, mother face federal fraud charges