Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, were found guilty of wire fraud in federal court.
According to court records seen by USA TODAY, the singer of “Beautiful Girls” and his mother were found guilty of all charges against them on Friday after a five-day trial. They were charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of plotting to commit wire fraud.
Turner was returned to the custody of the U.S. Marshals, and the judge suggested that she stay in jail at the Miami Federal Detention Center until her sentencing.
Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, will have to pay a new bond of $200,000 and stay in home detention with electronic monitoring. He will also have to give the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida cash.
Kingston, who is 35 years old, and Turner will be sentenced on July 11. Up to 20 years in prison are possible for each count.
Sean Kingston used ‘celebrity status’ in fraud, never paid for cars and jewelry: US attorneys
The mother and son were charged with wire fraud in July. The charges say they planned to do it between April 2023 and March 2024. They meant to “defraud and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.”
“Unjustly enriching themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers as payment for vehicles, jewelry, and other goods,” the indictment said. Kingston and Turner were charged. They were accused of keeping the things even though they had never paid for them.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida also says Kingston used “his celebrity status” to get his victims’ vendors to change how they normally did business and often get them to deliver or supply goods and services before getting paid in full.
Three watches worth a total of $285,000 to $480,000 were among the things they stole. They also stole a car worth $160,000 and audio and video equipment worth $40,000.
In Florida, the two are still being charged at the state level, and their cases have not yet gone to trial. They are accused of a scheme to steal money, grand theft, and using people’s personal information to get services without their permission.
From October 2023 to March 2024, the Broward Sheriff’s Office says Kingston and his mother took part 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, promises, or willful representations of a future act.”
