Sean Kingston Silent As He & His Mother Are Indicted In $1M Fraud Scheme

Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, were reportedly indicted by a Miami grand jury. Kingston, however, has yet to speak out publicly about the charges.

As reported by NBC News, the mother-son duo made their first appearances in federal court on Friday (July 19). They stand accused of participating in a scheme to defraud victims of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods through the use of fraudulent documents.

Kingston was booked into the Broward County jail on similar state charges last month following a May 23 arrest at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing. Turner was arrested the same day as her son, when a SWAT team raided his rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale.

Kingston and Turner falsely claimed that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers for high-end items when no such transfers had taken place. Investigators said Kingston and Turner then kept more than $1 million worth of fraudulently purchased items despite not paying for them.

The warrants for the state charges say that from October to March, they stole nearly $500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from a Cadillac Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank and $86,000 from the maker of customized beds.

Kingston has only spoken out once since his legal troubles began. Following his June 5 release from jail, he took to Instagram to thank his fans, lawyers and more. He wrote: “It’s great to be home! A special thanks to God, my family, my friends and my legal team… Robert Rosenblatt, James Stark, Mark Geragos, Zeljka Bozanic, Pierre Pollas. And I cannot forget about my amazing fans, thank you for all your love and support! I love you guys!”

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