MIAMI (AP) — Rapper Sean Kingston and his mother pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that they defrauded several companies of more than $1 million.
Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and his mother, Janice Turner, presented their confessions during an arraignment before Broward County District Judge Ernest Kollra, the Sun Sentinel reported. Bail had already been set at $90,000 in an earlier hearing, and Kollra made no changes, the newspaper said.
The artist and his mother pleaded not guilty to charges of organized fraud and grand theft.
Kingston was originally arrested in May in Fort Irwin, California, on a Broward Sheriff’s Office warrant after a SWAT team searched his Southwest Ranches home.
Kingston, 34, and Turner, 61, were accused of defrauding a jewelry store, a luxury bedding company, a used luxury and exotic car dealership and a luxury micro-LED TV company since October 2023, the arrest warrants say.
Kingston and his mother are expected back in court on October 11, the newspaper reported. They also face charges in federal court.
Kingston broke into the music scene in 2007 at the age of 17 with the hit song “Beautiful Girls,” which featured his lyrics over the track “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.