The Broward County Sheriff’s Office accused Sean Kingston of grand theft and fraud, resulting in 10 criminal charges in Florida. Kingston remained in custody following a May 23 raid on his home.
Kingston’s mother Janice Turner was arrested when authorities raided his home in Florida. Kingston was apprehended in California on the same day. He was held without bail pending extradition.
“We were in the process of having him return to Florida after his show,” Kingston’s lawyer Bob Rosenblatt told NBC News. “We want him back ASAP so we can show this is merely a civil case and not criminal. We look forward to challenging this case in court. “
Kingston and his mother allegedly defrauded multiple businesses. They faced grand theft charges for a Cadillac Escalade valued at $159,701, $480,000 worth of jewelry and a $86,568 bed.
Additional charges were related to Kingston defrauding banks and writing bad checks. According to Rolling Stone, authorities said he violated his probation for trafficking stolen property.
Dennis Card, an attorney representing a company suing Kingston, claimed the singer engaged in “organized systematic fraud.”
“He’s got basically a script, he says that he works with Justin Bieber and that he obviously puts on a big show here,” Card said. “[The raided home] is a rental house, he doesn’t own it, and he lures people using his celebrity into having them release things without him paying for it and then he simply never pays.”
The lawyer continued, “He’s 100 percent a scammer, he’s on felony probation right now for trafficking in stolen property, he’s got judgments against him for procuring more than $1 million in watches without paying for them. This is just an ongoing pattern for Sean.”
Kingston’s mother faced eight charges for her role in the fraud scheme. She was released on a $160,000 bond.
