Sean Kingston and his mother Janice Turner were both found guilty Friday on all counts in a sweeping federal wire fraud case in Fort Lauderdale, Florida — a verdict that could land the once-chart-topping rapper and his mom behind bars for up to 20 years per charge.
The duo – accused of orchestrating a years-long scheme that defrauded luxury retailers, jewelers, banks, and high-end service providers out of more than $1 million – were convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud following just three and a half hours of jury deliberation, NBC News reports.
Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, was in tears as the verdict was read, his hands clasped in front of him.
“Protect my mother,” he reportedly cried out as U.S. Marshals led Turner into custody, according to WPLG.
Turner, 62, was described by the judge as the “fixer and nerve center” of the operation.
She was remanded into federal custody immediately following the verdict and ordered held at Broward County Jail until sentencing on July 11. Her son, meanwhile, was granted house arrest with electronic monitoring.
The mother and son are facing 20 years in prison. Credit: Steven Lawton/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Kingston must post a $200,000 cash bond and offer up a relative’s $500,000 home as surety.A High-Stakes Con Built on Fame
The verdict concludes a saga that began with a civil lawsuit in early 2024, when Ver Ver Entertainment LLC sued Kingston over a $111,000 luxury TV and sound system he allegedly never paid for.
In exchange for a discounted rate, Kingston had promised to create promotional videos with pop star Justin Bieber. The ads never materialized, and Bieber had no involvement.
Federal prosecutors said this type of bait-and-switch was part of a broader scam where Kingston used his celebrity status and social media influence to dupe businesses into handing over luxury goods before receiving payment. His mother often handled the logistics, coordinating delivery details and following up with sellers — while forged wire transfers were sent as supposed payment.
“This case is about a woman’s intuition,” said Turner’s attorney Humberto Dominguez during closing arguments, arguing she was merely trying to protect her son.
But prosecutors told a different story.
Turner had previously served 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in a 2006 bank fraud case involving over $160,000, the New York Post repots. Her testimony on the stand — where she admitted to creating fake wires to delay payments — was a major factor in the judge’s decision to detain her.
Per NME, a critical piece of evidence included a text message Kingston sent his mother saying: “I told you to make [a] fake receipt,” followed by, “so it [looks] like the transfer will be there in a couple [of] days.”Luxury Cars, Jewelry, and Fake Promises
The elaborate scheme, which spanned from October 2023 through March 2024, involved purchases from multiple victims: a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade, a 232-inch Colossal TV, luxury beds, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry. Payments totaling nearly $500,000 in jewelry, over $200,000 from Bank of America, and more than $160,000 from an Escalade dealer were all made using fraudulent transfers, authorities said.
Jeweler Moshe Edery testified that he gave Kingston an Audemars Piguet watch worth $285,000 based on promises of future business, celebrity exposure, and a screenshot of a phony wire transfer. “I’m going to have you at all my video shoots and red carpets,” Kingston told him in a voice memo presented during the trial.
Edery never received the money and was later fired from his job, saying he was blacklisted from the industry.
“He simply never pays,” Edery’s lawyer told reporters, calling the scam “a script” Kingston used to manipulate sellers.
Kingston and Turner had been previously sued for similar schemes.
In 2015, they paid $356,000 to settle a case involving unpaid customized watches. In 2018, they were forced to pay $301,000 to a New York jeweler after scamming the store out of nine items.
A Fall From Stardom
Kingston, who was just 17 when his 2007 hit ‘Beautiful Girls’ rocketed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, became the first artist born in the 1990s to top the chart. The reggae-infused pop single stayed at No. 1 for four weeks and became an international sensation, with its music video surpassing a billion views on YouTube by 2022.
Over the years, Kingston collaborated with stars like Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Soulja Boy, Natasha Bedingfield, and Chris Brown. But behind the fame, authorities say, a pattern of deception was unfolding.
Kingston was arrested in May 2024 at Fort Irwin, California, where he had been performing for U.S. Army troops. That same day, a SWAT team raided his rented mansion in Southwest Ranches, Florida, arresting Turner on the spot.
Kingston, already on probation for trafficking stolen property, later agreed to return to Florida to face federal charges.
The pair now await sentencing on July 11. Each of the five charges they were convicted on carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Featured image credit: Steven Lawton/FilmMagic/Getty Images
