Sean Kingston and his mother Janice Turner have pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.
The Beautiful Girls hitmaker and his mother pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Monday.
During the hearing, lawyers for the 34-year-old singer and his 61-year-old parent demanded a jury trial and the judge did not alter the previously set bond of $900,000 (£680,000).
Attorney Robert Rosenblatt maintained his clients’ innocence, telling People, “Once the true facts come out we are confident of vindication.”
A grand jury in Miami previously charged the mother-son duo with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud for their alleged “involvement in a scheme to defraud victim sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry, and other goods purchased by the defendants through the use of fraudulent documents”, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida.
They are accused of defrauding multiple businesses, including jewellery, bed, car and TV companies, out of more than $1 million ($755,000) since October 2023 by “falsely” claiming they had transferred the money to pay for the goods.
The Fire Burning hitmaker, real name Kisean Anderson, was arrested in California in May after a raid on his home in Florida. Turner was arrested in Florida earlier that day.
They are next scheduled to appear in court on 11 October, according to the Sun Sentinel newspaper.
