Sean Kingston, the rapper and singer behind songs such as “Beautiful Girls” and “Take You There,” has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his role in a $1 million fraud scheme.
Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, was convicted of wire fraud in March, following a federal trial. He and his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, were each found guilty on five counts related to the crime, and they faced up to 20 years in prison for each count. Turner was sentenced to five years behind bars in July.
At Kingston’s sentencing Friday, he apologized before U.S Judge David Leibowitz made his ruling and said that he had learned a lesson, according to the Associated Press. His attorney requested that Kingston, 35, be allowed to leave and to surrender at a later date for health reasons, but the judge refused and Kingston was taken into custody immediately.
Kingston’s defense attorney, Zeljka Bozanic, said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, “We respect the Court’s decision and the judicial process. We are content that the Court did not go with the government’s request of five years and sentenced Sean below the sentencing guidelines instead. It is important to note that most of the restitution in this case was paid back, even before these charges were brought.”
Bozanic added, “Sean is taking this as a learning experience and will continue moving forward in a positive direction. We are actively reviewing all available options, including potential appeals, to ensure his rights are fully protected.”
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Kingston was arrested last year in Fort Irwin, Calif., following a raid of his South Florida home. In a subsequent indictment, federal prosecutors alleged that he and his mother “unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers as payment for vehicles, jewelry, and other goods purchased by the defendants, when in fact no such bank wire or other monetary payment transfers had been executed by the purported banks, and thereafter the defendants retained or attempted to retain the vehicles, jewelry and other goods despite non-payment. Through the execution of this scheme, the defendants obtained in excess of $1 million in property.”
Jeff Vespa/WireImage
Sean Kingston and his mother Janet Turner have been sentenced to prison
As an artist, Kingston has released four albums, most recently 2022’s Road to Deliverance, and has also collaborated with fellow musicians such as Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and Chris Brown.
In September 2022, he spoke with Grammy.com about the massive success he’s experienced with “Beautiful Girls,” which has been streamed more than 1 billion times on YouTube.
“So blessed. It feels amazing,” Kingston said. “It feels like I created something I always wanted to: timeless music. I am always going to create something with the intention that it’s going to be around for ages and something that people are always going to remember. A billion views that’s something a lot of people don’t have, so it’s definitely a great milestone.”
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