FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Sean Kingston, best known for his “Beautiful Girls” hit, ran out of federal court on Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale. A driver helped him get into a black Cadillac Escalade.
The Jamaican-American artist, born Kisean Anderson, was on probation for trafficking in stolen property when a Miami federal grand jury indicted him and his mother, Janice Turner, for wire fraud as part of a scheme estimated at $1 million.
Turner also ran away from the courthouse after the federal arraignment. She was making obscene gestures at photojournalists before she got into a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class sedan.
According to federal prosecutors, the duo was indicted because they “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.”
They had been accused of fraud before. In 2006, Turner pleaded guilty to bank fraud and served about a year and 6 months in prison. The new case includes Bank of America and First Republic Bank. According to the arrest warrants, the victims of the recent alleged fraud included a Cadillac Escalade dealer.
Records show the singer was arrested on May 23 during a trip to perform at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Turner was also arrested on May 23 during a raid at her home in Southwest Ranches.
Their federal arraignment was at 11 a.m., on Friday, at 299 E. Broward Boulevard. They pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud charges, asked for a jury trial, and their defense started the discovery process. Attorney Robert “Bob” Rosenblatt is representing the musician and his mother.
The mother and son duo also has a pending state case in Broward County concerning the same fraud. They are facing charges of conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, and identity theft. The U.S. Secret Service and the Broward Sheriff’s Office investigated the cases.