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Sean Kingston Sentenced To 3.5 Years In Prison: What Happened? American singer Sean Kingston was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for $1 million fraud scheme.
Sean Kingston Sentenced To 3.5 Years In Prison: What Happened?
Rapper Sean Kingston has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for orchestrating a $1 million fraud scheme in which he used his celebrity status to obtain luxury goods without paying for them.
Prosecutors said that between April 2023 and March 2024, Kingston used social media to lure sellers of high-end merchandise, including a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade, luxury watches, and a 19-foot LED television. He allegedly invited them to his Florida homes with promises of promotional exposure, but then sent fraudulent wire receipts instead of payment.
Court records revealed that victims often had to resort to lawsuits or police reports before receiving any money. A key piece of evidence was a text message Kingston sent to his mother, in which he instructed her to create fake receipts: “I told you to make a fake receipt.”
On July 19, 2024, rapper Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, were indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud each. Prosecutors alleged the pair orchestrated a scheme to swindle sellers of luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other high-end goods using fraudulent documents and wire transfers. Authorities estimated that the duo obtained approximately $1 million worth of merchandise without paying. Each charge carried a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The indictment followed a February 2024 lawsuit filed by Ver Ver Entertainment, which accused Kingston of failing to pay for luxury watches and other items. The lawsuit also alleged Kingston misrepresented his professional ties to Justin Bieber, claiming he could secure Bieber’s participation in promotional videos despite the fact that the two artists had not collaborated since their 2010 single “Eenie Meenie.”
On March 28, 2025, a jury found Kingston and Turner guilty on all counts. While Kingston was placed on house arrest under electronic monitoring and required to post a $700,000 bond—comprising his $500,000 home and $200,000 in cash—he was later held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami after being unable to secure the bond. Turner was immediately remanded into federal custody.
Turner, his mother were sentenced to five years in prison on July 23, 2025. Kingston, 35, was sentenced on August 15, 2025, to 3.5 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.