Rapper Sean Kingston Arrested In California After SWAT Raids His Florida Home; Charged With Fraud

Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Rapper Sean Kingston was arrested in California on fraud charges Thursday, several hours after a SWAT squad raided his rented South Florida property and took a van full of items.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office reported that Kingston was arrested without incident on a Florida warrant near Fort Irwin, an Army base in the desert about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles.

Sean Kingston | AP News Image

Rapper Sean Kingston Arrested In California After SWAT Raids His Florida Home; Charged With Fraud

Earlier in the day, Broward detectives arrested his 61-year-old mother, Janice Turner, during a raid on the rapper’s 14,000-square-foot (1,300-square-meter) home in Southwest Ranches, a wealthy Fort Lauderdale suburb that is home to many celebrities and professional athletes, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill.

Broward County prosecutors deferred any queries to the sheriff’s office, which has declined to divulge precise details about the allegations, citing an ongoing investigation. Following the operation, reporters outside the home observed authorities loading a van with stuff. The mansion was surrounded by luxury sports cars.

“People love negative energy!” Kingston posted to Instagram early Thursday. I am fine, and so is my mother! My lawyers are handling everything as we speak.” The post was eventually taken down.

Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for the rapper and his mother, stated, “We are aware of some of the allegations” leveled against the two.

“We look forward to addressing these in court and are confident of a successful resolution for Shawn and his mother,” Rosenblatt wrote in his email

According to Florida Department of Corrections records, Kingston is now serving a two-year probation sentence for trafficking stolen property. Further information on that conviction could not be retrieved. He will be imprisoned in California and is awaiting extradition to Florida.

According to federal court documents, his mother pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2006, taking more than $160,000 and serving over 1.5 years in jail. Thursday night, she was being held in the Broward County jail on a $160,000 bond.

The Jamaican-American rapper is best known for his 2007 No. 1 single “Beautiful Girls,” another smash, “Take You There,” and a collaboration with Justin Bieber on “Eenie Meenie.” In 2011, he was nearly killed in a personal watercraft accident. Kingston, whose official name is Kisean Anderson, has not had a major label record in almost a decade.

Sean Kingston | AP News Image

Rapper Sean Kingston Arrested In California After SWAT Raids His Florida Home; Charged With Fraud

An attorney who witnessed his mother’s arrest said the detentions are related to a lawsuit he filed against Kingston in February. The lawsuit accuses Kingston of defrauding a Florida company that installed a 232-inch (5.8 meter) television in his home, which measures approximately 17 feet by 9.5 feet (5 meters by 3 meters).

“It is amazing what you can get away with if you are a celebrity,” said attorney Dennis Card to The Associated Press. “He crafts a larger-than-life ‘I am rich’ persona. His mother is an essential component in this. He presents himself as a family-oriented guy, ‘I’m looking after my mother,’ yet she is fully aware of what is going on.”

According to the lawsuit, Kingston approached Ver Ver Entertainment in September about acquiring and installing the television sold under Colossal TV. The system costs $150,000.

Kingston allegedly promised the owners that if they agreed to a reduced down payment and granted him credit, he and Bieber would film commercials for them.

According to the lawsuit, Kingston paid the company $30,000 in November and had the television installed. Despite several pledges, no ads or further funds were made, according to the report.

Sean Kingston | AP News Image

Rapper Sean Kingston Arrested In California After SWAT Raids His Florida Home; Charged With Fraud

According to the lawsuit, Kingston no longer works with Bieber, who fired his longtime manager. Bieber’s current contact information was not available.

“He is 100% not involved in this,” Card said of Bieber. “He had the misfortune of doing some work in the past with Sean, and Sean drops his name like crazy.”

SOURCE – (AP)