Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, have been federally charged with wire fraud of more than $1 million.
Turner and Kingston, whose real name is Kasean Anderson, made their first court appearance Friday, according to documents filed in the Southern District Court of Florida. The mother and son are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. The two are alleged to have participated in a “scheme to defraud sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other items purchased by the defendants through the use of fraudulent documents.”
According to the indictment filed on July 11, Anderson and Turner “enriched themselves by falsely claiming to have made wire transfers or other cash payments” for the large purchases, but never sent the money. In doing so, they stole nearly $1 million worth of property, the indictment says.
If convicted, Kingston and his mother face up to 20 years in prison on each of the six counts against them.
Anderson had major success with his platinum hit single “Beautiful Girls” followed by “Take You There”, which reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.
Anderson and Turner's attorneys did not immediately respond. rolling stones Request comment.
Anderson and Turner were first arrested on fraud charges in late May. Turner was arrested in Florida, while Anderson was arrested in California hours after performing at a concert. Anderson was booked into a Florida jail, held on $100,000 bond.
This isn’t the first time Anderson or Turner have faced accusations of failing to pay bills. Kingston has been sued multiple times over similar allegations, while Turner pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges in 2006 and served time in prison. After the two were arrested, an attorney for Fair Fair Entertainment in Florida, which filed the lawsuit against the singer, told a local NBC affiliate that Anderson “baited people with his fame by getting them to release stuff without paying for it, and then he just never paid.”
