FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – “Beautiful Girls” singer Sean Kingston’s mother took the stand in their fraud trial in Fort Lauderdale federal court Thursday.
Janice Turner, 62, testified to her son being financially irresponsible and creating fake wire transfer receipts as a way to buy time to investigate the people he was doing business with.
She claims she did this with the intention of paying.
The government argues it was done with the intent to defraud.
The 35-year-old Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, and Turner are facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
The two are accused of providing fake wire transfer receipts to businesses and people to obtain luxury items.
Day four of their trial continued with the lead case agent, who testified to finding 33 fraudulent back wire receipts from Turner’s cell phone.
Of the receipts, the government said some are connected to a $115,000 colossal television, a $159,000 Cadillac Escalade, and hundreds of thousands for multiple luxury watches. None appeared in Kingston’s bank statements.
After the government rested its case, the defense called for an acquittal, citing the government had failed to prove the fake receipts were used with an intent to defraud the alleged victims out of their products.
The judge denied their motion, keeping the decision in the jury’s hands.
And while the defense showed proof some of the alleged victims were eventually paid in full, received partial payment, or had their items returned, the government argued that’s no defense to the wire fraud charges the two are facing.
Kingston was expected to take the stand either later Thursday or on Friday.
