Janice Turner wanted to stand beside her son Sean Kingston on sentencing day in their high-profile federal fraud case, but a Florida judge shut that plan down.
U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz denied Turner’s request to move her sentencing to August 15—the same date Kingston is scheduled to learn his fate.
Turner, who was convicted in March for her role in a luxury goods scam, had filed an unopposed motion asking to be sentenced on the same day but at a different time than her son. Despite no objection from prosecutors or the probation office, the court refused the change.
Her sentencing remains scheduled for July 11 at 9 a.m.
Turner, 61, was found guilty on March 28 after a federal jury determined she and Kingston orchestrated a scheme to obtain high-end items using fake wire transfers and forged documents.
According to AllHipHop, the mother-son duo posed as wealthy buyers and used Kingston’s celebrity status to convince vendors to hand over expensive goods without upfront payment.
Among the items fraudulently acquired were a $285,000 jewelry order from a Fort Lauderdale jeweler, a $150,000 home theater system allegedly tied to a fake Justin Bieber promotion, a $160,000 bulletproof Cadillac Escalade, and an $86,000 custom luxury bed.
The pair also defrauded Bank of America out of more than $200,000 and First Republic Bank for over $100,000.
The fraudulent activity spanned from April 2023 to March 2024, during which Turner handled logistics and sent fake payment confirmations while Kingston acted as the face of the operation.
Turner was immediately taken into custody after the verdict due to a prior 2006 conviction for bank fraud. Kingston, meanwhile, is currently under house arrest and fitted with an ankle monitor.
So far, Turner’s sentencing will proceed as scheduled on July 11. Both face up to 20 years in prison.
