Sean Kingston Sentenced To 3.5 Years In Prison For $1M Fraud

A choose sentenced Sean Kingston to 3 and a half years in jail on Friday (August 15), per the Related Press. He was beforehand convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme through which he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxurious gadgets that he then by no means paid for.

A jury convicted Kingston, whose authorized title is Kisean Paul Anderson, and his mom, Janice Eleanor Turner, have been convicted in March by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 4 counts of wire fraud. She obtained 5 years in jail final month.

RELATED: Sean Kingston May Reportedly Face 6-12 months Jail Sentence In Fraud Case (UPDATE)

Decide Takes Sean Kingston Into Custody

Earlier than U.S. Decide David Leibowitz handed down Kingston’s sentence, the singer apologized to the choose within the South Florida courtroom. Additionally, he mentioned he had discovered from his actions. His legal professional requested if he might self-surrender at a later date as a consequence of well being points. Nevertheless, the choose ordered him taken into custody instantly. Kingston was carrying a black swimsuit and a white shirt. Kingston eliminated his swimsuit jacket after the choose’s order to take him in. Officers handcuffed the singer and led him out of the courtroom.

What Did The Rapper’s Lawyer & The Prosecutor Say In Courtroom?

Within the listening to, Assistant U.S. Lawyer Marc Anton described Kingston as somebody hooked on his celeb life-style even when he might not afford to keep up it.

“He clearly doesn’t prefer to pay and depends on his celeb standing to defraud his victims,” Anton mentioned Friday.

The federal prosecutor described a years-long 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 young person — the age he was when he vaulted to stardom. The legal professional mentioned Kingston had virtually no data of his funds, counting on enterprise managers and his mom.

“Nobody confirmed him easy methods to make investments his cash,” Bozanic mentioned. “Cash went in and cash went out on superficial issues.”

Bozanic mentioned Sean Kingston has already began paying again his victims. The legal professional mentioned he intends to pay again each cent as soon as he’s free and might begin working once more.

Decide Leibowitz rejected the concept Kingston was unintelligent or naive. Nevertheless, he credited the rapper with accepting accountability and declining to testify reasonably than presumably mendacity in court docket. That was in distinction to Kingston’s mom, whose trial testimony Decide Leibowitz described as obstruction.

Extra Particulars About Sean’s Mom & Their Case

Decide Leibowitz’s demeanor was very completely different from what he gave Sean Kingston’s mom, whose trial testimony he described as obstruction.

Kingston and his mom have been arrested in Might 2024 after a SWAT group raided Kingston’s rented mansion in suburban Fort Lauderdale. His mom was taken into custody throughout the raid, whereas Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, an Military coaching base in California’s Mojave Desert. On the time, he was acting on base.

In line with court docket information, 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 all his high-end Florida houses. He would 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. Some examples included a bulletproof Escalade, watches, and a 19-foot (5.9-meter) LED TV. When the funds by no means cleared, victims usually contacted Kingston and Turner repeatedly. Nevertheless, authorities mentioned they have been by no means paid or obtained cash solely after submitting lawsuits or contacting regulation enforcement.

Related Press author David Fischer contributed to this report through AP Newsroom.