Sean Kingston agrees to return to Fla. in fraud case
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. –
Rapper and singer Sean Kingston on Tuesday waived his right to fight extradition in a California court and agreed to be turned over to authorities in Florida, where he and his mother are charged with committing more than a million dollars worth of fraud.
Kingston, 34, did not make a public court appearance but signed papers agreeing to skip extradition hearings, representatives from San Bernardino courts and sheriff told The Associated Press.
He remained in a Southern California jail Tuesday afternoon, but sheriff’s officials will coordinate with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office to return him to Florida, sheriff’s spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said in an email.
Kingston was arrested Thursday at Fort Irwin, an army training base in California’s Mojave Desert where he was performing.
His mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, was arrested the same day, when a SWAT team raided Kingston’s rented mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Kingston and Turner have been charged with conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft and related crimes, according to arrest warrants released by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The warrants allege they stole money, jewelry, a Cadillac Escalade and furniture.
The Jamaican American performer had a No. 1 hit with “Beautiful Girls” in 2007 and collaborated with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.”
Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney for Kingston and his mother, had said Friday that they planned to waive extradition, saying they looked forward to addressing the charges in a Florida court and “are confident of a successful resolution.”
Emails sent to Rosenblatt for further comment Tuesday were not immediately answered.
The warrants in the case say that from October to March they stole almost US$500,000 in jewelry, more than $200,000 from Bank of America, $160,000 from the Escalade dealer, more than $100,000 from First Republic Bank, $86,000 from the maker of customized beds. Specifics were not given.
Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was already on two years’ probation for trafficking stolen property.
His mother pleaded guilty in 2006 to bank fraud for stealing over US$160,000 and served nearly one and a half years in prison, according to federal court records.
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Associated Press Writer Terry Spencer contributed from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
