By Charlie Gile and Dennis Romero
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother were found guilty on all counts in their federal wire fraud trial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday.
Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, were accused of defrauding a jewelry business, a luxury bed company, a used luxury and exotic car dealership, and a luxury microLED TV company, arrest warrants said.
A jury delivered the convictions after 3½ hours of deliberation.
Kingston, 34, was ordered to be confined to house arrest with electronic monitoring. He must post a surety bond of a home valued at $500,000 and $200,000 in cash, according to the court.
Turner, 61, was remanded into federal custody, where she was ordered to remain until sentencing.
Both are scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.
As the verdicts were read on Friday, Kingston and his mother dabbed away tears.
Kingston was arrested in Fort Irwin, California, in May on a warrant issued by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida after a SWAT team raided his home in Southwest Ranches, a community in Broward.
A federal grand jury indicted the pair in July 2024. The indictment accused Kingston of using his celebrity influence and social media accounts to convince sellers of luxury goods to deliver items before payment.
His mother, the indictment said, often followed up to ensure delivery dates and other details. Payment was then made via fraudulent and worthless wire transfers, the criminal complaint said, while the items were retained by Kingston.
The scheme went on for a few years until March 2024, the indictment said.