American-Jamaican singer, Sean Kingston, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his involvement in a $1 million fraud case involving luxury goods.
The 35-year-old artiste, known for his 2007 global hit “Beautiful Girls,” was convicted in March 2025 alongside his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, who had earlier been sentenced to five years in prison. Both were found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Kingston used his celebrity status to scam victims into releasing expensive items, including:
A bulletproof Cadillac Escalade
Several luxury watches
A 19-foot LED television
Court documents revealed that Kingston presented fake wire transfer receipts and lured sellers with promises of social media promotion, which he never fulfilled.
During Friday’s sentencing in a South Florida courtroom, U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz rejected the defense’s plea for delayed surrender on medical grounds and ordered Kingston’s immediate remand.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton described Kingston as a “thief and a conman” who had spent years exploiting his fame to deceive unsuspecting victims.
However, Kingston’s lawyer, Zeljka Bozanic, argued that the singer lacked financial discipline and had already begun repaying some of the defrauded parties.
The sentencing comes nearly a year after a SWAT raid at Kingston’s rented Fort Lauderdale mansion in May 2024, where both he and his mother were arrested.
Despite his current troubles, Kingston remains best known for his breakout success as a teenager, when he topped charts worldwide at age 17 with his single “Beautiful Girls.”
