NEED TO KNOW
- Sean Kingston was sentenced on Friday to three and a half years in prison and three years of supervised release
- The news comes after his mother Janice Turner was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release in July
- The singer and his mother were found guilty of fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud earlier this year; the duo stole over $1 million, according to prosecutors
Sean Kingston (real name Kisean Paul Anderson) has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison as well as three years of supervised release, according to CBS News Miami and Local 10, for his role in a $1 million fraud scheme.
According to the Associated Press, Kingston apologized to U.S. Judge David Leibowitz before receiving his sentence and claimed he learned his lesson. While his attorney requested the ability for the musician to self-surrender in the future for health reasons, Leibowitz ordered him to be jailed on the spot.
The 35-year-old singer, best known for the hit “Beautiful Girls,” and his mother Janice Turner were found guilty of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud in March 2025. Turner received her sentence — five years in prison and an additional three years of supervised release — on Wednesday, July 23, according to reporting by CBS News Miami and NBC6.
Speaking to the judge in court, Turner pleaded for mercy, saying that she was trying “to keep my son afloat in this difficult industry” and alleging that Kingston was “used” and “abused.”
After her sentence, NBC6 noted Turner is at risk of being deported to Jamaica. It is not clear when that will be decided.
“It was a hard-fought sentence, so we have mixed feelings on it,” her attorney Humberto Dominguez told the outlet. “We won on some points and obviously lost on some points. All of which will be handled on appeal. So we have mixed feelings on it. Overall, the judge tried to do what was right and what was fair.”
Since the two were found guilty, Turner was held in prison, while Kingston was released on $100,000 bail. He was originally unable to make bail and therefore held for a few days.
Kingston and his mother’s legal troubles began with a raid on their Florida home — and Turner’s arrest — on May 23, 2024. Kingston was in California at the time and arrested later that day.
The raid was triggered by a lawsuit filed against Kingston by Ver Ver Productions. The company claimed the singer failed to pay them for items he purchased and hadn’t delivered on promises to film promotional video with Justin Bieber, even though Bieber and Kingston hadn’t collaborated since 2010’s “Eenie Meenie.”
Prosecutors accused Kingston and Turner of stealing over $1 million dollars over the course of several years from a high end car dealer, jewelers and a television installment company. The defense argued there was a lack of evidence to prove intent and that some of the alleged victims had received their property back, according to NBC6.
Kingston is best known for his breakout hit “Beautiful Girls,” released in 2007. He also found success in 2009 and 2010 with “Fire Burning” and “Eenie Meenie,” the latter featuring Bieber. Kingston continued to put out music even amid his legal troubles, with his most recent single “Thick Thighs” released in October 2024.