Sean Kingston’s US$1m fraud charges

Rapper and singer Sean Kingston, 34, was arrested Thursday at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing. His mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, was arrested the same day, when a SWAT team raided Kingston’s rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

CHARGES

According to arrest warrants released by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Kingston and Turner have been charged with a number of offences. The warrants also allege they stole money, jewellery, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture.

From October to March they stole almost $500,000 in jewellery, $200,000-plus from Bank of America, $160,000 from the Escalade dealer, $100,000-plus from First Republic Bank, and $86,000 from the maker of customised beds.

The Associated Press said that specifics were not given.

The Jamaican American performer had a No. 1 hit with Beautiful Girls in 2007 and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song Eenie Meenie.

Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, had said Friday that they planned to waive extradition, saying they looked forward to addressing the charges in a Florida court and “are confident of a successful resolution”.

Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already on two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property.

His mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over $160,000 and served nearly 1.5 years in prison, according to federal court records.