Authorities in South Florida raided rapper Sean Kingston’s home and arrested his mother on Thursday morning over allegations of defrauding a tech company out of thousands of dollars in a deal for a large television and speaker system.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office and Davie Police SWAT executed arrest and search warrants at Kingston’s Southwest Ranches property as part of an investigation originating in Dania Beach.
Footage showed numerous police vehicles around the home. It remains unclear if Kingston, real name Kisean Paul Anderson, was present during the raid.
Kingston’s 61-year-old mother, Janice Turner, was arrested on multiple fraud and theft charges. Known as “Mama Kingston” on Instagram, Turner was photographed being led away in handcuffs.
The allegations against Kingston are based on a lawsuit filed by Ver Ver Entertainment LLC in February, accusing him of breach of contract and fraud.
The lawsuit claims Kingston reached out to Ver Ver via Instagram in September 2023 to purchase a 232-inch Colossal TV and a sound system, valued at over $111,000.
To reduce the cost, Kingston allegedly promised promotional videos featuring Justin Bieber, despite having no current projects with Bieber and no intention of creating the content.
Kingston agreed to wire a $30,000 down payment and a second installment of $47,827.16 after installation and promotional videos. However, he failed to make the final payment and did not produce the promised videos, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit also mentions Kingston’s previous legal issues, including a 2015 judgment for $356,000 in unpaid watches and another in 2016 for $301,500 in unpaid jewelry. Kingston’s representatives have not commented.
Dennis Card, Ver Ver’s attorney, present during the raid, stated that Kingston uses his celebrity to obtain goods without payment.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office is expanding its search to other areas of Kingston’s property. Card claims Kingston has a pattern of promising payments and never following through, repeating this scam multiple times.
