The ju judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, convicted rapper Sean Kingston and his mother on Friday on a scheme that included more than $1 million in fraud, according to prosecutors.
Kingston, 35, 35, who is Kisean Anderson and his mother, Janice Turner, 62, of Southwest Ranch, Florida, have been charged with five wire fraud.
They essentially owned According to the US Lawyer's Office for the Southern District of Florida, high-end vehicles, gems and other goods are pretending to pay using fraudulent documents.
Prosecutors said each faces up to 20 years of prison at each count. The defendant is expected to be sentenced in July.
Turner, who testified during the trial, gained federal custody on Friday. Her lawyer, Hambert Dominguez, said they would sue the verdict on Saturday morning.
Kingston, who did not testify, was allowed to mail home bonds worthy of $500,000 and $200,000 in cash, but will continue to be held home detention through electronic surveillance. His attorney, Zeljka Bozanic, said on Saturday he was grateful that Kingston was allowed to remain bonds, but added that they would also file an appeal.
Kingston, 17, has become known for his debut single, “Beautiful Girls,” which uses a sample of Ben E. King's “Stand by Me.” 4 weeks on the 2007 Billboard Hot 100 chart. Ranked 1.
“He spent his childhood in Jamaica, which gave him the title of his stage and the direction of Patois,” critic Kelefa Sanne wrote in the New York Times in 2007:
Prosecutors said Kingston and Turner were “unfairly enriched” by mistakenly claiming they performed bank wires or other financial transfers as payment for vehicles, gems and other high-end items when such transfers were not made.
Prosecutors say the property distance has increased by more than $1 million.
Kingston and Turner were charged in a “scammed, organized plan” facility that includes car dealers and jewellers, according to an arrest warrant.
According to the warrant, Kingston and Turner were also accused of stealing Cadillac escalades and $480,000 in jewelry from dealers.
Court records show Turner pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud and filing fraudulent loan applications and was sentenced to 16 months in prison. She was released in March 2007.
