Sean Kingston, the singer most commonly known for his hit “Beautiful Girls,” will spend years in prison for his role in a $1 million fraud scheme.
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Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Friday, August 15, according to The Associated Press. Kingston was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Back in March 2025, Kingston was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. His mother, Janice Turner, was also convicted of the same crimes. She was sentenced to five years in prison in July.
As per a release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, evidence presented at trial revealed that Kingston contacted his victims via social media, regarding “high-end merchandise” purchases.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, Kingston invited his victims to his luxury homes in Broward County. There, he would “gain the victims’ trust” by offering to promote their products on his social media. Kingston would even name-drop other celebrities who could become his victims’ clients.
However, when payment was due, both Kingston and Turner would send fake wire receipts to fool their victims, with Turner obtaining the faux receipts. While some of the victims were eventually paid after filing lawsuits or involving the police, many victims were not paid at all.
They were both arrested in May 2024, and Kingston’s rented mansion was raided by a SWAT team.
A ‘Conman’
Prosecutors described him as a “thief” and a “conman.” However, Kingston’s defense argued that the singer had a teen mentality, saying that he did not know about his finances.
“No one showed him how to invest his money,” defense attorney Zeljka Bozanic said. “Money went in and money went out on superficial things.”
Kingston’s mother, Turner, before her sentencing, apologized to the judge. As per CBS News Miami, she said that her “intention” was to keep Kingston “afloat in this difficult industry.”
“They used him and abused him,” Turner added. “I am begging for mercy for me and my son.”
In court, Sean Kingston apologized for his actions, saying he had learned his lesson. However, as per the AP, when his defense requested that he self-surrender at a later date, citing health issues, U.S. Judge David Leibowitz ordered Kingston to be immediately jailed.
Turner, meanwhile, will have to pay restitution. Her restitution hearing, as per NBC6, was scheduled for October 16. She faces deportation to Jamaica when she is released.