Janice Turner, the 63-year-old mother of singer Sean Kingston, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison and three years of probation for her role in a federal wire fraud case involving more than $1 million.
Turner and her son, 35, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, were both convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Kingston is scheduled for sentencing on August 28.
Before the sentence was handed down, Turner addressed the judge, stating, “I’m sorry. My intention was to keep my son afloat in this difficult industry. They used him and abused him. I am begging for mercy for me and my son.” While Turner has been ordered to pay restitution, her attorney noted that most of the defrauded businesses have already been compensated.
According to federal prosecutors, the pair engaged in a scheme to defraud vendors of luxury items by falsely claiming to have made wire payments for the goods. Between October 2023 and March 2024, they fraudulently obtained nearly $500,000 in jewelry, a luxury SUV valued at $160,000, and an $86,000 custom bed. They also defrauded Bank of America and First Republic Bank out of a combined $300,000.
The mother and son were arrested on May 23, 2024. Turner was taken into custody during a police raid on a South Florida mansion Kingston was renting, while the singer was apprehended at Fort Irwin, a U.S. Army base in California. He subsequently waived extradition and was returned to Florida to face the charges.
At the time of his arrest, Kingston was already serving two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property. Turner also has a prior criminal record, having pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006. She served nearly 18 months in prison for stealing over $160,000 in that case.
Kingston gained international fame in 2007 with his No. 1 hit “Beautiful Girls” and later collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”
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