Rapper Sean Kingston sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for fraud
Sean Kingson has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison after he was convicted of a fraud scheme worth one million dollars.
Kingston received his sentence on Friday, Aug. 15, four months after he and his mom, Janice Eleanor Turner, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud, per the Associated Press report.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton said Kingston was addicted to his celebrity life, even though he could no longer afford it.
“He clearly doesn’t like to pay and relies on his celebrity status to defraud his victims,” Anton said, per the outlet, adding, “He is a thief and a conman, plain and simple."
Per the report, the 35-year-old apologized to the judge in the South Florida courtroom and said he has learned his lesson. His legal counsel initially asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but the judge declined and ordered his immediate detention.
Defense attorney Zeljka Bozanic argued that Kingson still thought like a teenager, saying he almost did not know how to manage his finances. He always relied on business managers and his mother.
US Judge David Leibowitz rejected this argument, but he gave credit to Kingston for accepting responsibility, contrary to his mother. Turner received a five-year prison sentence last month.
He will also have an additional three years of supervised release, per the NBC report.
The two were arrested in May 2024 after the police raided their rented mansion in South Florida. Kingston's legal problems began when Ver Ver Entertainment sued him, claiming he didn't pay for items and made "numerous false representations."
Kingston and his mom were also accused of defrauding $1 million (over P56 million) over the years from a high-end car dealer, jewelers, and a television installment company, according to an NBC6 report.
The rapper, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, rose to fame in 2007 with his song, Beautiful Girls. Among his hits are Fire Burning, Take You There, and Eenie Meenie, a song collaboration with Justin Bieber.
