FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Rapper Sean Kingston was apprehended in California on Thursday on fraud charges, hours after a SWAT team raided his rented mansion in South Florida, seizing a van load of items.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office reported that Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, was arrested without incident on a Florida warrant near Fort Irwin, an Army base approximately 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
Earlier in the day, Broward detectives detained Kingston’s 61-year-old mother, Janice Turner, during the raid of his 14,000-square-foot home in Southwest Ranches, a wealthy suburb of Fort Lauderdale known for its celebrity residents, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill. Authorities were seen loading a van with goods from the property, which was surrounded by luxury sports cars.
“People love negative energy!” Kingston had posted on Instagram earlier Thursday. “I am good, and so is my mother! … My lawyers are handling everything as we speak.” The post was later deleted.
Robert Rosenblatt, the attorney representing Kingston and his mother, acknowledged the allegations but expressed confidence in resolving the matter favorably in court.
Kingston is currently serving two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property, according to Florida Department of Corrections records. Details of this conviction were not readily available. He is being held in California pending extradition to Florida.
Federal court records show Turner pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006 for stealing over $160,000, serving nearly 1.5 years in prison. She is currently held at the Broward jail on a $160,000 bond.
Kingston, best known for his 2007 No. 1 single “Beautiful Girls” and collaborations with artists like Justin Bieber, has not released a major label album in over a decade. He suffered severe injuries in a 2011 watercraft accident but has since continued to pursue his music career.
The arrests are partially linked to a lawsuit filed in February by attorney Dennis Card, accusing Kingston of defrauding a Florida company that installed a 232-inch television in his home. The system, costing $150,000, was allegedly paid for with a down payment of $30,000, but subsequent promised payments and promotional work involving Bieber never materialized.
Card, who witnessed Turner’s arrest, criticized Kingston’s alleged deceptive practices, suggesting that the rapper uses his celebrity status to create a false image of wealth and family values while engaging in fraudulent activities.
“He is 100% not involved in this,” Card said of Bieber, noting that Kingston frequently name-drops the pop star despite no longer having a working relationship with him.
As the investigation continues, more details about the charges and the extent of the alleged fraud are expected to emerge.
