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00:00Sean Kingston's million-dollar fraud scheme lands him in federal prison.
00:04Sean Kingston's journey from chart-topping teenager to federal inmate reached its conclusion this week.
00:11The rapper behind 2007's Infectious Beautiful Girls received a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence
00:16plus three years of supervised release for orchestrating a wire fraud scheme
00:21that netted over $1 million in luxury goods.
00:24His mother, Janice Turner, got five years behind bars for her role in the operation.
00:28What started as leveraging celebrity status for business deals
00:32became a criminal enterprise that federal prosecutors systematically dismantled.
00:38Kingston and his mother allegedly used his celebrity status to scam luxury vendors
00:41into delivering high-end cars, jewelry, and furniture before payment.
00:46From April 2023 to March 2024, they reportedly sent fake wire transfer receipts
00:52after receiving the goods to stall vendors waiting for money that never came.
00:57Prosecutors say text messages even show Kingston telling his mother to
01:01make a fake receipt, pointing to deliberate, organized fraud.
01:06Dramatic arrests at a Florida mansion and California Army base preceded a rapid conviction.
01:12Turner's arrest came via SWAT raid at Kingston's rented Southwest Ranch's mansion.
01:16Kingston himself was apprehended at Fort Irwin Army Base during a performance.
01:20Federal prosecutors presented testimony from 17 victims documenting losses, including $500,000 in jewelry,
01:28$160,000 from a luxury SUV dealer, and $200,000 from Compromise Bank of America accounts.
01:36The jury needed just hours to convict both defendants on all charges,
01:40despite defense claims that most of the restitution was paid back before charges were filed.
01:44Kingston expressed remorse in court, with his defense arguing he was unprepared
01:49for sudden fame and wealth at 17 and easily influenced.
01:53His sister asked the judge for leniency, calling him a good man.
01:58Despite this, Kingston was already on probation for a 2022 trafficking conviction,
02:03while Turner also had a past bank fraud conviction,
02:06and both still face separate state fraud charges.
02:08The case highlights how celebrity status can be used to exploit vendors.
02:13For an artist once collaborating with Justin Bieber and topping charts,
02:17a federal prison sentence marks a stark fall from early fame.
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