Jurors were deliberating Friday afternoon in the federal fraud trial of rapper Sean Kingston and his mother, who are accused of running a scheme to obtain luxury goods using fake wire transfer receipts.
Federal prosecutors rested their case earlier in the day against Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson and his mother, Janice Turner.
Closing arguments began that morning and continued into the afternoon before the case was handed to the jury around 3 p.m.
The pair are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. They have pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege that Kingston, 34, and Turner defrauded multiple companies by providing falsified payment confirmations for high-end items, including a luxury SUV, jewelry, watches and a wall-sized television.
A text message shown in court appeared to show Kingston instructing his mother to create a fake receipt, making it seem like a payment transfer was pending.
Authorities raided Kingston’s Southwest Ranches home last May, recovering items he allegedly never paid for.
During closing arguments, Turner’s attorney argued that the so-called victims were actually fraudsters themselves.
Kingston’s attorney suggested that jurors had only been given “bits and pieces” of the full story.
