Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, were convicted on Friday of all charges they faced in their $1 million federal fraud case out of Florida.
The 34-year-old “Beautiful Girls” singer, born Kisean Anderson, and his 61-year-old mom were found guilty after just three-and-a-half hours of jury deliberation, reported NBC6 South Florida.
The mother and son were each indicted last July on five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in what authorities said was an organized scheme to defraud multiple luxury companies out of high-end goods.
“The defendants unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers … [then] retained or attempted to retain the vehicles, jewelry and other goods despite non-payment,” federal prosecutors said at the time. “Through the execution of this scheme, the defendants obtained in excess of $1 million in property.”
Kingston and Turner, whose trial started on Monday, had previously pleaded not guilty. But in taking the stand on Thursday, Turner admitted to sending fake bank wires and other falsified documents.
She claimed she did so to protect her son from being taken advantage of by scammers and give herself time to look into the people they did business with. She said she had always intended to pay back their debts.
Kingston and Turner are currently scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. They’re facing up to 20 years in prison on each count.
Prior to their sentencing, Kingston will be held on house arrest with electronic monitoring. He’s also been ordered to post a surety bond of a home valued at $500,000 and $200,000 in cash, according to NBC News.
Turner, who was deemed a flight risk, will remain in federal custody.
Late last May, Turner was arrested during a SWAT raid on her son’s Florida home, with Kingston being taken into custody hours later in California.
