Singer Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, were indicted in Miami federal court for their involvement in a $1 million wire fraud scheme. They face up to 20 years in prison for each of the six charges if convicted.
Kingston, 34, and Turner, 61, were arrested in May and appeared in court today. They are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud, related to defrauding sellers of luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other high-end goods using fraudulent documents.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida stated that Kingston and his mother falsely claimed to have made bank wire transfers to obtain over $1 million in property.
The arrests followed a lawsuit against Kingston for failing to pay for luxury items. Kingston was arrested in California on May 24 after a SWAT raid on his South Florida mansion, which also resulted in his mother’s arrest.
Kingston, famous for his 2007 hit “Beautiful Girls” and collaborations with Justin Bieber, allegedly uses his celebrity status to lure people into releasing goods without payment. His mother has a history of legal issues, including false loan applications and bank fraud.
