Rapper Sean Kingston has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison after being convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme.
The 35-year-old was found guilty of wire fraud in March alongside his mother, Janice Turner. They were convicted by a federal jury of four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
They were arrested in California in May of last year after a SWAT team descended on the Florida mansion he was renting. His mother was taken into custody during the raid, and Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, where he was performing.
Turner was sentenced to five years in prison and three years probation last month. The Beautiful Girls singer, real name Kisean Paul Anderson, was sentenced at his trial in South Florida on Friday (August 15).
According to the Associated Press, U.S. Judge David Leibowitz handed out the rapper’s sentence and ordered Kingston into custody immediately. Kingston apologised and said he had learned from his actions.
The rapper’s attorney reportedly asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but this was rejected. Kingston, who wore a black suit and white shirt, removed his suit jacket and was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
(Image: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Earlier this week, Kingston’s lawyers asked the judge to consider house arrest rather than prison. He had been under house arrest with an electronic tag during his trial.
The pair falsely claimed to pay for luxury items, including cars, jewellery, and other high-value items, by pretending to make bank transfers that were never processed. They managed to acquire over $1 million worth of goods and money by fraudulent means.
Sean and Janice’s trial took place from March 24 to March 28 in Broward County, Florida. The charges accused the pair of defrauding a car dealership out of $160,000 (£123,000) for a Cadillac Escalade, stealing nearly $500,000 (£386,000) worth of jewellery, and obtaining other luxury items, such as a bed valued at $86,000 (£66,000) without paying for them.
Kingston used social media from April 2023 to March 2024 to arrange purchases of high-end merchandise, court records say. Kingston would invite the sellers to one of his Florida homes and promise to feature them and their products on social media.
According to investigators, Kingston or his mother would text the victims fake wire receipts for the luxury items. These good included a bulletproof Escalade, watches and a 19-foot (5.9-meter) LED TV, investigators said.
Victims would attempt to contact Kingston and Turner repeatedly when they realised the funds hadn’t cleared but they only received money after filing lawsuits or contacting law enforcement – or they were never paid at all.
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