Sean Kingston was arrested in California on fraud and theft charges following a SWAT raid of his South Florida mansion and the arrest of his mother.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said Kingston was arrested without incident on a Florida warrant in San Bernardino County on Thursday. This happened only a few hours after Broward detectives arrested his mother, Janice Turner, during the raid of Kingston’s home in a lavish Fort Lauderdale suburb. She was also taken into custody on suspicion of fraud and theft.
Robert Rosenblatt, an attorney representing Kingston, told NBC News, “We were in the process of having him return to Florida after his show,” Bob Rosenblatt, an attorney representing Kingston,told NBC News. “We want him back asap so we can show this is merely a civil case and not criminal. We look forward to challenging this case in court.”
Before his own arrest, Kingston posted on Instagram, “People love negative energy! I am good, and so is my mother! … My lawyers are handling everything as we speak.”
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NBC News in South Florida report the raids were connected to a lawsuit filed against Kingston for allegedly not paying for luxury items including a TV, watches and a custom-made bed. Kingston’s mother has been embroiled in legal issues in the past over false loan applications and bank fraud.
The Jamaican-American singer is best known for his 2007 No. 1 song “Beautiful Girls,” in addition to his collaboration with Justin Bieber on the song “Eenie Meenie.” Kingston has not released music under a major label in over a decade.
Attorney Dennis Card, who represents an individual allegedly suing Kingston over the unpaid items, told the outlet that Kingston uses “basically a script, he says that he works with Justin Bieber, and obviously puts on a big show here, this is a rental house, he doesn’t own it, and he lures people using his celebrity into having them release things without him paying for it and then he simply never pays.”
Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Paul Anderson, will be held in San Bernardino pending his return to Florida.