Sean Kingston sentenced to prison for million-dollar fraud scheme

American singer Sean Kingston has been sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for $1 million fraud scheme.

As reported by foreign media, singer Kisean Paul Anderson, aka Sean Kingston, 35, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Friday, after being convicted of a $1 million fraud scheme in which he leveraged his fame to dupe sellers into giving him luxury items that he then never paid for.

Lifestyle News – Latest Entertainment News, Celebrity Gossip

According to the details, the singer apologised to judge David Leibowitz in the South Florida courtroom and said he had learned from his actions, before he was handed down the sentence. His attorney asked if he could self-surrender at a later date due to health issues, but the judge ordered him taken into custody immediately.

Assistant Attorney Marc Anton argued that Kingston has been addicted to his celebrity lifestyle, which he can no longer afford to maintain. Hence, relies on his celebrity status to defraud his victims for the same.

Per the federal prosecutor, this has been a years-long pattern by Kingston of bullying victims for luxury merchandise and then refusing to pay. “He is a thief and a conman, plain and simple,” Anton said.

But, defence attorney Zeljka Bozanic countered that the singer had the mentality of a teenager and had almost no knowledge of his finances, relying on business managers and his mother. “No one showed him how to invest his money,” Bozanic said. “Money went in and money went out on superficial things.”

His defence also mentioned that Kingston had already started paying back his victims and intends to return every cent once he is free and can start working again.

Also Read: K-pop star sentenced to 8 years in prison in drunk driving case

Notably, Kingston and his mother, Janice Eleanor Turner, who were both taken into custody last May, were convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud this March.

His mother was sentenced to five years in prison last month.