Sean Kingston, the Jamaican-American singer, and Janice Turner, his mother, were indicted in Miami federal court on Friday in connection with a $1 million wire fraud scheme.
The 34-year-old singer, born Kisean Anderson, appeared in court with Turner, 61, following their arrest in May.
The pair were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud charges.
According to a press release from the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida, the charges were due to their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud victim sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry and other goods purchased via fraudulent documents.
They were said to have “unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers as payment for vehicles, jewelry, and other goods purchased”.
According to the office, the alleged scheme involved making payments through banks that never actually went through, resulting in them accruing an excess of $1 million in property.
If convicted, both face up to 20 years in prison for each of the six charged counts.
According to records at the Florida department of corrections, Kingston is currently on two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property.
His mother previously served time for bank fraud in 2006.
Kingston is best known for his 2007 chat-topping song ‘Beautiful Girls’; another hit, ‘Take You There’; and his collaboration with Justin Bieber on the song ‘Eenie Meenie.’
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