Two months after rapper Sean Kingston and his mother Janice Turner were arrested on fraud and theft charges back in May, it appears things have only gotten worse.
As previously reported by The Root back in May, the Jamaican-American artist was arrested in California mere hours after his South Florida mansion was raided. His mother was also taken into custody, having been at the home at the time the Florida SWAT team conducted the raid.
At the time, local authorities cited the reason for their arrests as having to do with an ongoing civil case over incomplete payments for an entertainment system in the South Florida rental mansion.
Now, however, it looks like the two of them have been federally indicted with wire fraud charges stemming from accusations that they “acquired more than $1 million in vehicles, jewelry, and other goods from unsuspecting sellers through the usage of fraudulent documents and Kingston’s celebrity status,” according to The New York Times:
Mr. Kingston and Ms. Turner were accused of an “organized scheme to defraud” establishments, including a car dealership and a jeweler, of more than $50,000, according to arrest warrants for them. Mr. Kingston and Ms. Turner were also accused of stealing a Cadillac Escalade from the dealership and $480,000 in jewelry from an individual, according to the warrants.
Both the rapper and his mother are facing one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison per each count.
Following the initial raid, Kingston’s lawyer Robert Rosenblatt said in a statement: “We are aware of some of the allegations...We look forward to addressing these in court and are confident of a successful resolution for Sean and his mother.