Sean Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Friday after being convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme.
The singer was taken into custody to begin his sentence after the sentencing was announced. Before his sentencing by U.S. Judge David Leibowitz, Kingston apologized to the judge in the South Florida courtroom.
“I apologize, I apologize, I’ve learned from my actions,” Kingston said. “All I’m asking for is to accept my apology to the court.”
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His attorney asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but the judge ordered that the singer be taken into custody immediately. Kingston, 35, will also serve three years of probation following his release.
Ahead of his sentencing, his lawyers asked the judge to allow the singer to serve his sentence at home rather than in a prison cell.
In April, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida announced that Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, had been convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors said the two came up with a plan to fool several vendors into giving them $1 million worth of luxury cars, jewelry, and other electronics. Jurors took less than four hours to find Kingston and his mom guilty. On Wednesday, July 23, Judge Leibowitz sentenced Turner to five years in prison and three months of probation during a federal court hearing in Miami.
Ahead of her son’s sentencing, his lawyers made their argument for house arrest, citing previous cases that they believe set a precedent for their request. In Florida-filed court documents seen by Complex, the “Beautiful Girls” singer’s lawyers further argued that “in many instances, home confinement or house arrest is, in itself, a substantial punishment” for Kingston’s crimes.
Kingston’s mom, Turner, was taken into custody in May 2024 after a raid of a Southwest Ranches mansion rented by her son. A lawyer, Dennis Card, informed NBC 6 at the time that the raid had something to do with a case he filed against Kingston for purportedly failing to pay for goods acquired, including a 232-inch TV that Kingston was seen posing in front of in a photo.
The lawyer said, “He likes having bling, he likes showing off, he’s a showman. My client has a $150,000 television sound system that’s in there, there’s also about $1 million worth of watches that are in there, there’s a $80,000 custom bed that was ordered. This is an 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, this 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, who was representing the company suing Kingston, said.
Hours after Turner’s arrest, Kingston was also arrested while in the middle of performing one of his hits on stage, the Independent reported. The report said the singer was arrested “without incident” at the U.S. military training area of Fort Irwin, California.
His lawyers argued that most of the singer’s victims were paid back, adding that “the restitution owed is minimal in comparison to the loss for which Mr. Anderson is being held responsible.”
Character letters were also filed ahead of Kingston’s sentencing, including letters to the judge from the singer’s sister, fellow recording artist Iyaz, and a grocery store cashier in Fort Lauderdale who described Kingston as someone who’s “always willing to lend a hand,” Complex reported.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton said Friday that Kingston was obsessed with his celebrity lifestyle even though he could no longer afford to maintain it.
“He clearly doesn’t like to pay and relies on his celebrity status to defraud his victims,” Anton said. “He is a thief and a conman, plain and simple.”
