Sean Kingston and his mother Janice Turner have been found guilty of fraud.
According to NBC News, Kingston and Turner were convicted on all counts in their federal wire fraud trial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday (March 28).
In addition to the federal charges, the two also face similar state charges.
At the reading of the verdicts, both Kingston and Turner wiped tears away. They both hugged before Turner was taken into federal custody. Kingston thanked Judge David S. Leibowitz for his fairness and asked federal agents to “protect his mother” as he walked out of the courtroom.
The jury took about three hours to reach its verdict.
Kingston and Turner faced allegations of defrauding a jewelry business, a luxury bed company, a used luxury and exotic car dealership, and a luxury microLED TV company.
According to the prosecutors, Kingston and Turner stole almost “$500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from the Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank, $86,000 from the maker of customized beds from October 2023 to March 2024.”
Prosecutors argued Kingston and Turner “unjustly enriched themselves,” claiming they sent out payments as wire transfers for luxury vehicles and fine jewelry but the banks did not authorize any transactions.
Humberto Dominguez, Kingston’s defense attorney, stated during closing arguments Friday that Turner was trying to protect her son’s finances from people who wanted to take advantage of him.
“This case is about a woman’s intuition,” Dominguez said.
Kingston, who earlier told Leibowitz he wanted to “speak his truth,” eventually, changed his course and chose not to testify.
Because he remained silent, Kingston was allowed to post bond and remain out of jail until his sentencing, according to the court.
As a result of his conviction, Kingston will be confined to house arrest with electronic monitoring. Also, he must post a surety bond of a home valued at $500,000 and $200,000 in cash, the ruling stated. Turner will remain in federal custody until sentencing.
Leibowitz argued Turner’s testimony amounted to obstruction and was pivotal in his decision to remand her into federal custody. He said that her testimony “makes it impossible to believe she wouldn’t do anything for her son.”
Previously, Turner served a year and a half in prison after pleading guilty to stealing over $160,000 in a bank fraud scheme back in 2006.
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, July 11, with Turner’s hearing at 9 a.m. and Kingston’s at 11 a.m.
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