Singer Sean Kingston was sentenced to a few and a half years in jail Friday after being convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme wherein he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxurious gadgets that he then by no means paid for.
Kingston, whose authorized title is Kisean Paul Anderson, and his mom, Janice Eleanor Turner, had been convicted in March by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 4 counts of wire fraud. Turner was sentenced to 5 years in jail final month.
Earlier than U.S. Choose David Leibowitz handed down Kingston’s sentence, the singer apologized to the decide within the South Florida courtroom and mentioned he had realized from his actions. His legal professional requested if he may self-surrender at a later date as a result of well being points, however the decide ordered him taken into custody instantly. Kingston, who was sporting a black swimsuit and white shirt, eliminated his swimsuit jacket and was handcuffed and led from the courtroom.
Assistant U.S. Lawyer Marc Anton described Kingston as somebody hooked on his superstar way of life though he may not afford to keep up it.
“He clearly doesn’t prefer to pay and depends on his superstar standing to defraud his victims,” Anton mentioned Friday.
The federal prosecutor described a yearslong sample by Kingston of bullying victims for luxurious merchandise after which refusing to pay.
“He’s a thief and a conman, plain and easy,” Anton mentioned.
Protection legal professional Zeljka Bozanic countered that the 35-year-old Kingston had the mentality of a teen — the age he was when he vaulted to stardom. The legal professional mentioned Kingston had nearly no data of his funds, counting on enterprise managers and his mom.
“Nobody confirmed him tips on how to make investments his cash,” Bozanic mentioned. “Cash went in and cash went out on superficial issues.”
Bozanic mentioned Kingston has already began paying again his victims and intends to pay again each cent as soon as he’s free and might begin working once more.
Leibowitz rejected the concept Kingston was unintelligent or naive, however the decide mentioned he gave Kingston credit score for accepting accountability and declining to testify slightly than probably mendacity in courtroom. That was in distinction to Kingston’s mom, whose trial testimony Leibowitz described as obstruction.
Kingston and his mom had been arrested in Could 2024 after a SWAT group raided Kingston’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale. Turner was taken into custody through the raid, whereas Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, an Military coaching base in California’s Mojave Desert, the place he was performing.
In line with courtroom data, Kingston used social media from April 2023 to March 2024 to rearrange purchases of luxurious merchandise. After negotiating offers, Kingston would invite the sellers to one in every of his high-end Florida houses and promise to characteristic them and their merchandise on social media.
Investigators mentioned that when it got here time to pay, Kingston or his mom would textual content the victims pretend wire receipts for the gadgets, which included a bulletproof Escalade, watches and a 19-foot (5.9-meter) LED TV, investigators mentioned.
When the funds by no means cleared, victims typically contacted Kingston and Turner repeatedly, however had been both by no means paid or acquired cash solely after submitting lawsuits or contacting regulation enforcement, authorities mentioned.
Kingston, who was born in Florida and raised in Jamaica, shot to fame at age 17 with the 2007 hit “Lovely Women,” which laid his lyrics over Ben E. King’s 1961 music “Stand By Me.” His different hits embody 2007’s “Take You There” and 2009’s “Hearth Burning.”
