Sean Kingston’s Mother, Janice Turner, Sentenced to Five Years Over $1M Fraud Case

Janice Turner, the mother of pop-reggae singer Sean Kingston, has been handed a five-year prison sentence after she and her son were convicted in a $1 million fraud case involving luxury goods and vehicles.

According to court documents, a jury found Turner, 63, and Kingston, 35, guilty in March on five counts linked to wire fraud. The indictment, filed in July 2024, came just weeks after law enforcement raided Kingston’s sprawling 7,966-square-foot rental mansion in Southwest Ranches, Florida.

Prosecutors said the mother-son duo carried out an elaborate scheme between April 2023 and March 2024, during which they falsely claimed to have completed payments for high-value items—including luxury watches, a vehicle, and other goods—using wire transfers that were never actually fulfilled.

Among the fraudulent transactions listed in the indictment: $480,000 for two luxury watches, $285,000 for another timepiece, and $159,702.78 for a car—amounting to more than $1 million in unpaid merchandise.

Turner, who was facing up to 20 years in federal prison, received a five-year sentence from U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz. Her legal team had urged the court to consider a lighter term of two and a half years, citing her charitable work, numerous health problems, and limited criminal record.

In court, however, Judge Leibowitz described Turner as the “nerve center” of the operation, according to Local 10 News.

A pre-sentencing memorandum submitted by Turner’s lawyers conceded that prison time was appropriate. “Ms. Turner will go to prison; she has earned the prison sentence,” the document stated. “However, a sentence greater than thirty months is a waste of taxpayer resources based upon the history and characteristics of Ms. Turner.”

Due to the conviction, Turner will be deported to Jamaica upon completing her prison term, her attorneys confirmed.

This isn’t her first brush with the law. In 2006, Turner pleaded guilty to bank fraud and served over a year in federal custody.

Sean Kingston—real name Kisean Anderson—is slated to be sentenced on August 28. The Florida-born artist rose to fame in the late 2000s with chart-topping hits like “Beautiful Girls,” “Fire Burning,” and the Bieber-assisted “Eenie Meenie.”