Sean Kingston and his mother Janice Turner were arrested on Thursday, May 23 at different locations following a raid on the singer’s South Florida residence.
The raid was linked to an alleged merchandise scam and was initiated due to Kingston’s alleged failure to complete payments for various high-value items.
The singer’s mother, 61 years old, was detained on multiple fraud and theft charges, according to reports.
Kingston, real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, was also taken into custody without incident in Fort Irwin, California Thursday evening on an arrest warrant from Broward Sheriff’s Office for numerous fraud and theft charges, authorities said.
Attorney Dennis Card, representing the plaintiffs suing Kingston, detailed the systematic nature of the singer’s alleged fraudulent activities.
“This is what he does all the time. He likes having bling, he likes showing off, he’s a showman,” Card stated. “My client has a $150,000 television sound system in there, about $1 million worth of watches, and an $80,000 custom bed. This is an organized, systematic fraud.”
Card elaborated on Kingston’s method of operation, noting how the singer leverages his celebrity status to deceive vendors.
“He’s got a script. He claims to work with Justin Bieber, puts on a big show, and uses a rental house to lure people into releasing items without payment,” Card explained. “Then he simply never pays.”
Card said the recurrent nature of Kingston’s alleged scams.
“He’s 100 percent a scammer,” Card asserted. “He’s currently on felony probation for trafficking in stolen property and has judgments against him for obtaining more than $1 million in watches without payment. This is an ongoing pattern for Sean.”
According to a report by WSVN, both Turner and Sean Kingston appeared in bond court on Friday.
During the court appearance, several conditions were set for Turner’s release. The bond must be fully collateralized and a judge must approve the source of the funds to ensure they were not obtained illegally, under a legal stipulation known as a Nebbia requirement.
This measure is intended to prevent use of criminal proceeds to secure release from custody.
“She doesn’t pose a threat to the community,” said Turner’s attorney. “I believe that the bond as currently stated is a little excessive. I would ask the court to reconsider.”
Turner is facing eight counts of theft and fraud.
