South Florida singer Sean Kingston and his mother were back in court Monday as they face charges in connection with what authorities said was a $1 million fraud scheme.
The 34-year-old Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, are facing federal and state charges that include grand theft and wire fraud.
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They appeared in federal court on Friday and were in state court Monday as Kingston's attorney seeks to have one of the cases dismissed.
"We'll get either the federal case dismissed or the state case dismissed," said Kingston's attorney, Robert Rosenblatt, who said he's filing a motion to eliminate one case.
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Kingston had been arrested in California back in May, the same day Turner was arrested during a raid on the Southwest Ranches mansion where the singer lives.
Arrest warrants said that from October 2023 to March of this year, Kingston, Turner and others defrauded multiple businesses, including a jeweler, a luxury furniture maker, a high-end auto dealer and a company that specializes in TV and entertainment systems.
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Prosecutors said they purchased the items using fraudulent documents including bank wires and payment transfers, then kept or tried to keep the items despite not paying.
In one instance, Kingston allegedly fraudulently obtained a bed valued at more than $86,000 from a company named Maree, whose website said it "designs and creates the world's largest luxury beds."
In another, a Cadillac Escalade valued at $159,701.49 was fraudulently obtained from an exotic car dealership, the warrants said.
Also fraudulently obtained was jewelry valued at $480,000, the warrants said.
The total value of the items obtained exceeded $1 million, prosecutors said.
"We believe he's innocent," Rosenblatt said. "We're looking forward to trying this case either in state or federal court, or both if necessary."
Kingston was already serving a two-year probation sentence for trafficking in stolen property.
As far as how Kingston is handling this legal battle, Rosenblatt said "he's doing fine."
He is due back in state court on October 11th.
Kingston had some major hits including his 2007 debut single "Beautiful Girls." He's previously collaborated with Justin Bieber and Soulja Boy.
