Sean Kingston arrested for fraud and theft after raid on his home

Singer and rapper Sean Kingston was arrested in California on Thursday, just hours after a SWAT team raided his home in Broward County, Florida, and took his mother into custody, authorities said.

Kingston, 34, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother Janice Turner, 61, face “numerous fraud and theft allegations,” the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Mr. Kingston was still a teenager when his debut single, “Beautiful Girls,” spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2007. He has since collaborated with Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Wyclef Jean, but has kept a low profile in recent years.

Mr. Kingston, who was arrested in Fort Irwin, Calif., and his mother could not be reached for comment and it was not immediately clear whether they had lawyers. Representatives for Mr. Kingston did not respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear Friday whether he and Ms. Turner were still in custody.

“People love negative energy!” Mr Kingston posted on Instagram before his arrest. “I’m fine and so is my mom! … my lawyers are taking care of everything right now.”

The address in Southwest Ranches, Florida, southwest of Fort Lauderdale, where the search took place, is listed as Mr Kingston’s residence in a lawsuit filed against him in February by a company that sells and installs high-end entertainment systems.

The lawsuit filed by Ver Ver Entertainment accuses Mr. Kingston of fraud and breach of contract for failing to pay for a 232-inch television and a “robust sound system” installed in his home in September 2023.

According to the lawsuit, Kingston promised that in exchange for a smaller down payment, he would convince Bieber to produce promotional videos for the company. However, no promotional videos were filmed and Kingston paid only $30,000 of the $115,000 he owed to purchase and install the television and sound system, the lawsuit says.

Broward County sheriff’s officials declined to comment Friday and it was not immediately clear whether the lawsuit was related to the criminal investigation.

Dennis Card, an attorney for Ver Ver Entertainment, said in an email that his client gave a sworn statement to a detective investigating Kingston and was told authorities used the statement to obtain the arrest warrant.

Expimled, a company owned by Ver Ver, is listed in the warrant as one of the defrauded parties.

According to arrest warrants for Kingston and Turner, issued Friday following a public records request, the two are accused of “conducting an organized fraud scheme to defraud” businesses, including a car dealership and a jeweler, of more than $50,000.

In additional charges, Mr. Kingston and Ms. Turner are accused of stealing a Cadillac Escalade from the dealership and $480,000 worth of jewelry from a private individual.

Mr. Kingston is also accused of violating the terms of a two-year suspended sentence for a charge of trafficking in stolen goods. The suspended sentence expires on October 1, 2025.

Ms. Turner pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing fraudulent loan applications in 2006 and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, according to court records. She was released in March 2007.

Orlando Mayorquin contributed to the reporting.