Photo Credit: Sean Kingston at a drive-thru after a show in 2007 by Fay(ola) / CC by 2.0
Singer and rapper Sean Kingston is back in Florida, where he and his mother are facing over a million dollars in fraud charges.
Following his arrest in California on May 23, Sean Kingston has been extradited back to Florida — where his mother was also arrested — on charges of fraud, grand theft, identity theft, and more, racking up over $1 million in stolen money, jewelry, furniture, and cars.
Janice Turner, Kingston’s 61-year-old mother, was arrested the same day as her son, when a SWAT team raided the Fort Lauderdale mansion he had been renting. Both Kingston and Turner have been charged with conducting a scheme to defraud, as well as identity theft, grand theft, and related crimes.
According to arrest warrants released by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the pair allegedly stole money, jewelry, furniture, and a Cadillac Escalade. The warrants outline that from October to March, Kingston and Turner stole almost $500,000 in jewelry, over $200,000 from Bank of America, over $100,000 from the First Republic Bank, $160,000 from the Cadillac dealer, and $86,000 from a customized bed maker.
Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, has said they “are confident of a successful resolution,” and he and his clients look forward to addressing the charges in a Florida court.
Before his arrest, Kingston was already serving a two-year probation sentence for trafficking stolen property. Last week, he waived his right to fight extradition in California and agreed to be turned over to Florida authorities. In 2006, his mother pleaded guilty to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000, for which she served nearly a year and a half in prison, according to federal court records.
The 34-year-old Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, had a No. 1 hit in 2007 with “Beautiful Girls,” and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the track “Eenie Meenie.”
