Saturday, March 29, 2025 -Sean Kingston, the well-known singer of "Beautiful Girls," and his mother, Janice Turner, have been found guilty of fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal trial.
The singer, 35, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was
placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring, while Turner was taken
into custody. The singer must additionally post a surety bond of a home valued
at $500,000 and $200,000 in cash, per NBC6 South Florida. Their sentencing
is scheduled for July 11.
The trial began on Monday, March 24, and concluded with
closing arguments on Friday, March 28. The jury reached their decision after
three and a half hours of deliberation, per NBC6.
Kingston, who did not testify during the trial, and his
mother were convicted of defrauding several businesses, including multiple
jewelers, a television installment company and a high-end car dealership. The
total sum of items the pair obtained exceeded $1 million, prosecutors said.
The judge decided Turner was a flight risk, partly because
she did testify, per Local10. In footage the outlet published, Kingston
can be heard telling U.S. Marshall agents to "protect my mother" as
he was escorted from the courthouse.
During the trial, Fort Lauderdale jeweler Moshe Edery
testified that he lost his credibility after a failed $285,000 transfer from
Kingston, NBC6 reported on Thursday, March 27.
"I'm being scammed," Edery recounted on the stand.
The pair were arrested in May 2024 and made their
first court appearance in July. They were each charged with one count of
conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. Turner would
often ensure deliveries and wire transfers, only to send fraudulent transfers
instead, according to the indictment. The scheme went on for several
years.
During the trial, the defense argued that the prosecution
didn't have evidence that Turner and Kingston intended to commit fraud and said
some of the alleged victims got their money and merchandise back, per NBC6.
The singer, who was born in Miami and raised in Jamaica,
first rose to fame internationally for his 2007 hit song "Beautiful
Girls." His breakthrough continued throughout the 2010s, including a
collaboration with Justin Bieber and an appearance on the hit Disney
Channel show Suite Life on Deck.
0 Comments