Kingston and Turner at the American Music Awards in 2012. Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Sean Kingston (born Kisean Anderson) and his mother, Janice Turner, were found guilty on all counts in a federal wire fraud trial in Florida on March 28 after three and a half hours of deliberation, reports NBC News. Sentencing for Kingston and Turner is scheduled for July 11. Turner is staying in federal custody as the judge determined she may be a flight risk while Kingston will be on house arrest and must post a bond of his home (value of $500,000) and $200,000 in cash. After the decision was made, Kingston was in tears, begging agents to “protect my mother.” They each could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the six counts (one count of conspiracy and five counts of wire fraud).
Last year, Kingston and Turner were accused of frauding several businesses over the course of many years, including a jewelry store, a bed company, an exotic car dealership, and a luxury TV company, reportedly extracting more than $1 million worth of product. He and his mother would reportedly persuade businesses to give them the products, like a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade and expensive watches, before payment, and when money would be transferred, the wire transfer would allegedly be fraudulent, and they pair wouldn’t return the items. Turner would allegedly manage the delivery of the items as a part of the scheme. Kingston would reportedly name-drop former collaborators, like Justin Bieber, and promise the companies they would advertise social media in exchange for product; the last time Kingston worked with Bieber was for the 2010 hit “Eenie Meenie.” This isn’t Turner’s first federal charge for fraud; she served time in prison for bank fraud charges in 2006.
