A federal tribunal has found Sean Kingston, the popular singer of “Beautiful Girls,” and his mother, Janice Turner, guilty of fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Turner was arrested and the 35-year-old singer, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, was placed under electronic monitoring and home arrest. According to NBC6 South Florida, the artist also needs to provide a surety bond for a $500,000 house and $200,000 in cash. The date of their sentence is July 11.
Closing arguments took place on Friday, March 28, after the trial started on Monday, March 24. According to NBC6, the jury deliberated for three and a half hours before reaching its verdict.
Kingston and his mother were found guilty of defrauding a number of companies, including a luxury automobile dealership, a television installment firm, and many jewelers. Kingston did not testify throughout the trial. Prosecutors said that the pair’s purchases totaled more than $1 million.
According to Local10, the judge determined that Turner posed a flight risk in part because she testified. As he was being led out of the courthouse, Kingston was heard requesting the U.S. Marshall agents “protect my mother” in video that the outlet released.
Moshe Edery, a jeweler from Fort Lauderdale, testified during the trial that a failed $285,000 transfer from Kingston damaged his reputation, according to an NBC6 story on Thursday, March 27.
“I’m being scammed,” Edery recounted on the stand.
The pair were arrested in May 2024 and made their first court appearance in July. They were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. Turner would often ensure deliveries and wire transfers, only to send fraudulent transfers instead, according to the indictment. The scheme went on for several years.
During the trial, the defense argued that the prosecution didn’t have evidence that Turner and Kingston intended to commit fraud and said some of the alleged victims got their money and merchandise back, per NBC6.