Last year Sean Kingston, the Miami-born, Jamaica-raised singer behind the 2007 #1 hit "Beautiful Girls," was arrested along with his mother, Janice Turner, for more than $1 million worth of wire fraud. Shortly thereafter, we learned that Kingston might be facing years in prison for those crimes, and indeed, his mom was recently sentenced to five years following the pair's conviction back in March for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Now 35-year-old Kingston — real name Kisean Paul Anderson — has been sentenced too.
In a Florida courtroom today, Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, the Associated Press reports. US Judge David Leibowitz handed down the sentence. Kingston's attorney asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but the judge ordered him taken into custody immediately, so he removed his suit jacket, was cuffed, and taken away.
As Rolling Stone explains it based on court filings, between 2023 and 2024, Kingston reached out to victims online to purchase luxury merchandise — including a Cadillac Escalade, watches, and a gargantuan 232-inch LED-screen TV — then invited the sellers to his homes in the Broward County area, using his celebrity status to establish trust. He and his mother would text fake wire receipts to the victims and then ghost them, making off with the goods without paying for them.
Kingston had been lobbying for lenience. A filing from his legal team reads, "Mr. Anderson is deeply remorseful for his conduct and involvement in this scheme and has had time to step back and reflect on his actions and how to make amends. Mr. Anderson accepted responsibility in this case and has made all the positive steps toward learning and growing from this situation." He suggested house arrest, which "will adequately punish Mr. Anderson for his offense conduct while providing him the opportunity to care for his family and pay down the restitution amount."
