Sean Kingston and his mother indicted in $1 million fraud scheme

Singer and rapper Sean Kingston and his mother have been indicted in Florida on federal charges related to a scheme in which they committed more than $1 million worth of fraud, prosecutors said.

Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, 61, both of Southwest Ranches, appeared in federal court Friday after a grand jury in Miami charged each with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud, prosecutors said.

The charges were based on their involvement in a scheme to defraud sellers of high-end vehicles, jewelry and other goods purchased through the use of fraudulent documents, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida.

If convicted, each faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count, prosecutors said.

A lawyer for Kingston and Turner did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

As a teenager, Kingston became known for his debut single, “Beautiful Girls,” which used a sample from Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me.” It spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2007.

Since then, Kingston has worked with Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Wyclef Jean, but in recent years he has maintained a lower profile.

According to prosecutors, Kingston and Turner “unjustly enriched themselves” by falsely claiming that they had executed bank wire or other monetary transfers as payment for vehicles, jewelry and other high-end items when no such transfers had taken place.

“Through the execution of this scheme, the defendants obtained in excess of $1 million in property,” prosecutors said.

Kingston and Turner were accused of an “organized scheme to defraud” establishments, including a car dealership and a jeweler, of more than $50,000, according to arrest warrants for them. Kingston and Turner were also accused of stealing a Cadillac Escalade from the dealership and $480,000 in jewelry from an individual, according to the warrants.

Kingston is also accused of violating the terms of a two-year probation sentence on felony charges of trafficking stolen property. The probation term is set to expire Oct. 1, 2025.

Turner pleaded guilty in 2006 to charges of bank fraud and filing fraudulent loan applications and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, according to court records. She was released in March 2007.

In May, Kingston was arrested in Fort Irwin, California, and his mother was arrested on the same day after police raided a home listed as Kingston’s residence in Southwest Ranches, Florida, which is west of Fort Lauderdale.

“People love negative energy!” Kingston wrote on Instagram before the arrest. “I am good and so is my mother!..my lawyers are handling everything as we speak.”

On social media after being arrested and posting bail, he thanked his family, friends, legal team and fans for their support.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.