Devoun Cetoute
Miami Herald
(TNS)
Reggae artist Sean Kingston and his mother are now facing federal charges for allegedly committing a fraud scheme that cost more than $1 million. The indictment, which came down earlier this month, follows Kingston’s mansion being raided and the duo swept up in a state case for the same scheme.
On July 11, Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Paul Anderson, and his mother Janice Turner were indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud, district court records show.
Mother and son made their first appearance in federal court on Friday. Both paid their respective bonds and did not have to be jailed.
According to the indictment, the pair masterminded a profitable wire fraud scheme from April 2023 to March.
“It was the purpose of the scheme and artifice for the defendants and co-conspirators to unjustly enrich 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,” the indictment read.
As the plan went, Kingston and Turner would make false wire transfers to “purchase” several expensive items. The businesses gave them the goods but didn’t receive the money.
Some of their ill-gotten gains included $480,000 for two watches, $285,000 for another watch and $159,702.78 for a car, records show. In all, Kingston and Turner kept $1,017,702.78 of fraudulently purchased goods.
In May, a state case was opened against Kingston and Turner in Broward for the same fraud scheme.
Kingston’s South Florida mansion raided
As part of the state’s case against Kingston, Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives and Davie police SWAT raided his rented seven-bedroom mansion on May 23.
Search and arrest warrants were executed for the property, Kingston and his mother. Kingston was arrested in California on multiple fraud and theft charges that day, same as his mother.
At the time, Bob Rosenblatt of The Rosenblatt Law Firm, Kingston’s criminal defense lawyer, told the Herald, “We look forward to challenging the allegations in court.”
The warrants are based on the same alleged crimes detailed in the federal indictments. The state case being tried in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit Court is on behalf of the victims, all of whom are based in Florida.
The federal case is specifically looking at the wire transfers which passed through computer servers in different states.
History of missed payments
For more than a decade, Kingston has been sued for bounced checks or missed payments when shopping for expensive jewelry. He’s had to pay back thousands of dollars.
In 2014, Avi Da Jeweler was awarded $355,000 in a lawsuit against Kingston and Turner over the missed jewelry bills. Since 2009, Miami jewelry company Haimov Jewelers sued Kingston three times, and in one case he was ordered to pay nearly $100,000.
Kingston faced a criminal conviction in 2023 for not paying for jewelry. He had to complete two years of probation.
©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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