CELEBRITY
Popular American singer Sean Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Anderson and mother Janice, 61, are INDICTED on federal charges in $1M fraud scheme… one month after rapper was released from jail on $100k bail
![Popular American singer Sean Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Anderson and mother Janice, 61, are INDICTED on federal charges in $1M fraud scheme... one month after rapper was released from jail on $100k bail](https://newscially.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Untitled-162.jpg)
Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, have been indicted in South Florida on federal charges of committing more than $1 million worth of fraud.
The rapper, 34 – who was released from jail on $100k bail last month in June after his arrest on fraud and theft charges – and his mother, 61, made their first appearances Friday in federal court, according to court records.
A Miami grand jury returned an indictment earlier this month accusing Kingston and his mother of participating in a scheme to defraud victims of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods through the use of fraudulent documents.
Kingston was booked into the Broward County jail on similar state charges on May 23 arrest at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing.
Turner was arrested the same day as her son, when a SWAT team raided his rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
According to the federal indictment, Kingston and Turner falsely claimed that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers for high-end items when no such transfers had taken place.
Investigators said Kingston and Turner then kept over $1 million worth of fraudulently purchased items despite not paying for them.
The warrants for the state charges say that from October to March, they stole almost $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 from the maker of customized beds.
The Jamaican American performer had a No. 1 hit with Beautiful Girls in 2007 and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song Eenie Meenie.
Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment from The Associated Press.
He previously said they looked forward to addressing the charges and were ‘confident of a successful resolution.’
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already serving a two-year probation sentence for trafficking stolen property.
His mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000 and served nearly 1.5 years in prison, according to federal court records.
Late last month in May, Kingston was accused of defrauding as much as $1million from several businesses including a jeweler and exotic car dealership.
Prosecutors claimed Sean, and his mother Janice, committed more than a million dollars in fraud in recent months, stealing money, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture, per documents released at the time.
The mother and son were charged with conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft and related crimes, according to arrest warrants released by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
The two were arrested after a SWAT team raided Kingston’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale.
Turner was arrested in the raid, while Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing. According to the arrest warrant, they are charged with a total of 10 counts related to the raid.
Kingston was held at a California jail awaiting his return to Florida.
Robert Rosenblatt, the attorney for the Jamaican-American performer and his mother, said that Sean would return voluntarily if allowed, ‘which would save the state the expense of extradition and the costs of travel for the detectives and Sean.’
Turner was released on a $160,000 bond.
Last month, it was revealed that Sean was released from jail on $100K bail and was also forced to relinquish his passport and firearms, TMZ reported.