By News Americas ET Editor
News Americas, MIAMI, FL, Mon. July 28, 2025: Once hailed as a breakout Caribbean-American pop star with platinum hits and high-profile collaborations, Sean Kingston now finds himself at the center of a legal and financial spiral that’s unraveling not just his career – but his family, too.
Last week, the singer’s mother, Janice Turner, was sentenced to five years in federal prison after being convicted in a sweeping $1 million fraud case that also implicated her son. The 63-year-old matriarch had long been seen as the force behind Kingston’s rise, managing aspects of his career and lifestyle. Now, she is headed back to prison – her second federal conviction for fraud.
“My intention was to keep my son afloat in this difficult industry,” Turner pleaded before the court. “They used him and abused him. I am begging for mercy.”
The judge showed limited leniency. Turner will also serve three years of probation and pay restitution for her role in the scheme, which targeted vendors of luxury vehicles, jewelry, and custom furniture – none of which were ever fully paid for.
While Kingston awaits his own federal sentencing on August 28, the 35-year-old artist – who once topped the charts with Beautiful Girls and performed with Justin Bieber – is battling fresh problems closer to home. In Broward County court, he faces nine additional state charges, including grand theft and operating an organized scheme to defraud.
Worse still: Kingston appears to be out of money. His lawyer, Robert Rosenblatt, recently filed a motion to withdraw from the case, citing the singer’s failure to pay legal fees. Court documents now suggest the entertainer “may be indigent” – and could soon rely on a public defender.
According to prosecutors, the mother-son duo pulled off a high-level con between October 2023 and March 2024, posing as wealthy clients who claimed to have sent wire transfers for goods they never intended to pay for. Among the victims were:
- A luxury SUV dealer ($160,000)
- A custom jeweler ($500,000)
- A boutique furniture company ($86,000)
- Major banks, including Bank of America and First Republic ($300,000+ combined)
Their scam unraveled in May 2024, when Kingston was arrested on a U.S. Army base in California and Turner was detained during a SWAT raid at a rented South Florida mansion.
The collapse marks a dramatic fall for both – particularly Turner, who served 18 months for a prior bank fraud conviction in 2006.
For some in the industry, the Kingston saga is a cautionary tale of what happens when the demands of celebrity outweigh the means to maintain it.
“Too many artists are trying to keep up appearances when the checks stop coming,” one former music exec commented anonymously. “Behind the scenes, it’s debt, fake flexing, and sometimes crime.”
As Kingston’s sentencing nears, one question looms: can the star who once captured the world’s attention reinvent himself – or is this the final chapter in a story that began with Beautiful Girls and ended in betrayal?
British Caribbean News
