Mother Reportedly Stole Over $1 Million Via Fraud
Sean Kingston has found himself in the spotlight again after a SWAT team raided his Fort Lauderdale home last week. The 34-year-old artist and his mother have been accused of committing fraud, leading to their arrest.
According to ABC 30 Action News, Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, allegedly stole $500,000 in jewelry, over $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from an Escalade dealer, over $100,000 from First Republic Bank, and $86,000 from a custom bed maker, among other thefts. These activities reportedly occurred between October 2023 and March 2024.
As a result, they face charges including conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft, and other related crimes, according to arrest warrants issued by Broward County’s Sheriff Office. Turner was arrested on Thursday, May 23, following the raid on Kingston’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale. Meanwhile, the “Beautiful Girls” singer was arrested at Fort Irwin, an army training base in the Mojave Desert, where he was performing.
ABC 30 Action News reported that Sean Kingston is currently being held at the High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, California, as he awaits a return to Florida. Kingston’s attorney, Robert Rosenblatt, appeared before a judge on Friday, May 24, arguing that the Jamaican singer should be allowed to return to Florida voluntarily. Rosenblatt suggested this would save the state money on extradition and travel costs for detectives and Kingston himself.
Meanwhile, Janice Turner, Kingston’s mother, is being held at Broward County Jail with bail set at $160,000. Rosenblatt expressed optimism about the case, stating, “We look forward to addressing these charges in court and are confident of a successful resolution for Sean and his mother.”
This isn’t the first time Kingston and Turner have faced legal troubles. Kingston was recently arrested while serving two years of probation for trafficking stolen property. In 2006, Turner pleaded guilty to bank fraud after stealing $160,000 and served nearly two years in prison. The pair also faced lawsuits in 2015 and 2018 for failing to pay for customized watches and for scamming a New York jewelry store out of nine items, resulting in a $301,000 payment.
This past February, Sean Kingston was sued by a Florida entertainment systems company for failing to pay $120,000 of a $150,000 bill he owed for a 232-inch television they installed in his home. The artist committed to shooting commercials for the company alongside Justin Bieber if they gave him a “low down payment and credit,” but neither the commercials nor payment took place. The company claimed that Bieber had no involvement, and Kingston simply used his name to secure a deal.
“He has basically a sales pitch that he goes through to defraud people,” Dennis Card, attorney for Ver Ver Entertainment said last week. “He induces them into giving him really expensive things. We know that our property is inside this house right here.”