Whelp, that’s that at least for Janice Turner, the mother of singer Sean Kingston. She has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after being found guilty in a multimillion dollar wire fraud case that shook both the music and business communities.
Sheesh.
On Wednesday, July 23, Turner appeared in court to learn her fate, receiving five years behind bars followed by three years of supervised probation. Her son, Sean Kingston, is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28. Both were convicted in March on four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Before her sentencing, Turner addressed the court with remorse. “I’m sorry,” she said, according to CBS. “My intention was to keep my son afloat in this difficult industry. They used him and abused him. I am begging for mercy for me and my son.”
Together, Turner and Kingston were found to have fraudulently acquired more than $1 million through a scheme involving high-end goods. Their fraudulent activity included falsely claiming to have sent wire payments for luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other premium items, which they never actually paid for.
Turner has been ordered to pay restitution, though her legal team noted that a number of the victims had already been reimbursed. The pair’s arrests took place in May 2024, with Turner taken into custody in Florida and Kingston apprehended in California. Kingston was later held at Fort Irwin, a military base, before agreeing to extradition back to Florida.
This is not their first brush with the law. Turner previously served nearly 18 months in prison for a separate bank fraud case involving over $160,000. Kingston, who is now 35, was also previously sentenced to probation in a case related to trafficking stolen property.
Following his conviction in April, Kingston was detained but released shortly after posting a $100,000 bond. With his sentencing date approaching, all eyes remain on what consequences the singer will face as this high-profile fraud case nears its conclusion.
Next up, Sean Kingston.