FORT LAUDERDALE – Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother Janice Turner are set to be arraigned Monday on state charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom.
The singer, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and Turner are accused of defrauding victims out of high-end cars, jewelry and other goods the courts say they purchased using fraudulent documents. The charges from the state include fraud, grand theft and criminal use of identification.
On Friday, Kingston’s attorney said they had entered a not-guilty plea and waived his right to appear so he didn’t expect him to be in the courtroom. However, Monday morning Kingston arrived at the courthouse for the proceeding.
Also on Friday, the 34-year-old singer and his mother appeared in federal court where they pleaded not guilty to wire fraud charges. Kingston and Turner each face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud.
If convicted, they could spend decades in prison.
In May, Kingston and his mother were charged with conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft, and related crimes, according to arrest warrants released by the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Kingston was arrested on May 23 at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing. He waived his right to fight the extradition and was returned to Florida.
Turner was also taken into custody that same day when police raided a South Florida mansion her son had been renting.
The warrants in the case said that from October 2023 to March of this year they stole almost $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from an Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 from the maker of customized beds. Specifics were not given.
At the time of his arrest, Kingston was on two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property.
Turner pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000 and served nearly 1 1/2 years in prison, according to federal court records.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
