Rapper Sean Kingston Is Headed to Prison — Find out What the 'Beautiful Girls' Singer Did

Back in August 2022, rapper Sean Kingston was a month out from releasing his fourth studio album, "Road To Deliverance." It had been nine years since he dropped "Back 2 Life," and 15 years since he was discovered on MySpace by Matt Tobin at Beluga Heights Records.

While promoting "Deliverance," the rapper chatted with the UK magazine Student Pocket Guide, who asked him about his return after nearly a decade of being off the grid.

The then-32-year-old wasn't resting on his laurels while he was lying low. Kingston focused his energy on writing for other artists and signing new talent to his label Time is Money Entertainment.

Reflecting on his career up until that point, Kingston was shocked at what he was doing at the age of 17. A young Sean Kingston would probably be shocked to learn that three years after this interview, he would be in prison. What did the rapper do? Here's what we know.

According to the Associated Press, Kingston was sentenced to 42 months in prison after he was convicted of a $1 million wire fraud scheme. Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, did not act alone.

In May 2024, he and his mother, 61-year-old Janice Turner, were arrested following a SWAT raid that tore through the rapper's South Florida mansion. Kingston was apprehended in California on a Florida warrant, while his mother was taken into custody in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., per the AP.

In March 2025, a grand jury convicted Kingston and Turner of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Turner was handed a five-year sentence because she was difficult.

U.S. Judge David Leibowitz described her testimony as obstruction of justice.

Per court records, between April 2023 and March 2024, Kingston made arrangements through social media to purchase large, expensive luxury items. Once he negotiated a fair deal with the sellers, he invited them to his home with promises to boost them or their products on his social media.

Turner or her son would then text fake wire receipts to the victims and ignore them when they reached out about payment.

When Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton called Kingston a thief and a con man, his lawyer argued that the 35-year-old didn't have full knowledge of his own finances. "No one showed him how to invest his money," said attorney Zeljka Bozanic, claiming Kingston had the mentality of a teenager after being in the entertainment industry for so long.

Judge Leibowitz was not having any of this, saying the rapper knew exactly what was going on. To Kingston's credit, he apologized for his actions and claimed he had learned a valuable lesson.

He had already begun paying back the victims, and planned on paying all of his debts. The judge gave Kingston credit for taking responsibility for what he did, but it simply wasn't enough to keep him out of prison.