Rapper Sean Kingston was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on Friday after being convicted in connection with a $1 million fraud scheme in South Florida.
Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, and his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, were found guilty by a federal jury in March on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz had already sentenced Turner to five years in prison last month. Kingston’s sentencing was postponed until Friday.
In court, Kingston offered an apology to the judge, acknowledging his wrongdoing. “I apologize, I apologize, I’ve learned from my actions,” he said. “All I’m asking for is to accept my apology to the court.”
Judge Leibowitz said he considered Turner’s actions to be more severe in the case. Kingston’s attorney requested the rapper be allowed to self-surrender due to health concerns, but the judge ordered Kingston to begin serving his sentence immediately. Kingston, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom.
“He’s a 35-year-old man and led a celebrity lifestyle…And can no longer afford that today,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton said. “He is a thief through and through.”
In addition to his prison term, Kingston will be on probation for three years. A restitution hearing is scheduled for October.
After the hearing, Kingston’s sister, Kanema Morris, expressed her support, saying, “Sean has played a major role in a lot of people’s lives and he is a blessing and he will continue to be that. I just wanna say change won’t break our spirit, we stand in faith, I will be screaming ‘free my family’ until they are home where they belong.”
Kingston, 35, and Turner were arrested in May 2024 following a SWAT raid at Kingston’s rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale. Turner was taken into custody during the raid, while Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin, an Army base in California, where he was performing.
Court documents revealed that Kingston used social media between April 2023 and March 2024 to arrange purchases of luxury items. After finalizing deals, Kingston would invite the sellers to his upscale Florida homes, promising to promote their products on social media. Investigators said that when payment was due, Kingston or Turner would send the victims fake wire receipts for the high-end merchandise, which included a bulletproof Escalade, expensive watches, and a 19-foot LED TV.
When the payments never cleared, victims often contacted Kingston and Turner but either received no payment or were only compensated after taking legal action.
“Sean still doesn’t know how much money is in his bank account, and he likes to buy nice stuff, thinking people will pay, and it will come out of his account,” defense attorney Zeljka Bozanic said. “But it never did, and some people have yet to be paid, though most have.”
Kingston rose to fame in 2007 at the age of 17 with his hit song “Beautiful Girls,” which sampled Ben E. King’s 1961 classic “Stand By Me.”
