Singer Sean Kingston has been handed a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for orchestrating a $1 million fraud scheme, in which he exploited his celebrity status to acquire luxury goods without payment.
The 34-year-old artist, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, was convicted in March alongside his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud. Turner received a five-year prison sentence last month.
In court on Friday, Kingston apologised and told the judge he had learned from his mistakes. His lawyer sought a delayed surrender, citing health concerns, but U.S. Judge David Leibowitz denied the request, ordering Kingston to be taken into custody immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton said Kingston “clearly doesn’t like to pay and relies on his celebrity status to defraud his victims,” describing him as a man “addicted to his celebrity lifestyle.” Anton added: “He is a thief and a conman, plain and simple.”
Defence attorney Zeljka Bozanic argued Kingston, 35, had “the mentality of a teenager” since his rise to fame and little understanding of finances. “No one showed him how to invest his money,” she said, adding that Kingston has begun repaying victims and intends to pay back all losses.
Judge David Leibowitz dismissed arguments that Sean Kingston had been naive, but acknowledged that the singer accepted responsibility for his actions. He contrasted this with the behaviour of Kingston’s mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, whose testimony he described as obstructive.
Kingston and Turner were arrested in May 2024 during a SWAT raid on his Florida mansion. Prosecutors revealed that between April 2023 and March 2024, Kingston used his social media influence to lure sellers with promises of publicity in exchange for luxury goods. He then sent fraudulent wire transfer receipts to secure items including a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade, luxury watches, and a 19-foot LED television.
Born in Florida and raised in Jamaica, Kingston rose to stardom at the age of 17 with his 2007 chart-topping single Beautiful Girls, later releasing other popular tracks such as Take You There and Fire Burning.
