Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother made their first appearance in Florida federal court Friday after being indicted for wire fraud in a phony scheme to buy more than $1 million worth of luxury items.
Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mom, Janice Turner, 61, were indicted by a grand jury on July 11 on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The “Beautiful Girls” singer and his mom allegedly made false claims that they had executed bank wires and other payments for high-end items like cars and jewelry, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
They were arrested on similar state charges back in May.
The state warrants said that, from October to March, Kingston and Turner stole nearly $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America and $100,000 from First Republic Bank, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade dealer and $86,000 from the maker of customized beds.
Prosecutors allege Kingston would persuade businesses to “stray from their regular business practices” and hand over the items before receiving full payment.
“He’s got basically a script,” attorney Dennis Card, who filed a lawsuit against Kingston over stolen electronics, told NBC 6 Miami in May. “He says that he works with Justin Bieber … and he lures people using his celebrity into having them release things without him paying for it and then he simply never pays.”
The Jamaican American rapper collaborated with Bieber and Soulja Boy on his debut No. 1 single.
Kingston was arrested in May on the state charges while getting ready to perform at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in the Mojave Desert. His mom was arrested the same day during a SWAT raid of her son’s rented Fort Lauderdale mansion.
Kingston was already serving a two-year probation sentence for trafficking stolen property, according to reports. His mom pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing more than $160,000 and served more than a year in prison, according to records.
On Friday, Kingston was released on a $10,000 cash bond and Turner was released on $5,000 cash bond, according to court documents. Their next federal court appearance is set for Aug. 9.
“We intend to vigorously defend these charges,” Turner’s attorney told CNN.
With Post wires