A SWAT team raided theSouthwest Rancheshome of singer and rapperSean Kingstonon Thursday, authorities say.
The raid at the sprawling white mansion on the 4600 block ofSouthwest 178th Avenuecame out of an investigation that first began inDania Beach, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. A woman namedJanice Turner, 61, was arrested on “numerous fraud and theft charges,” spokespersonCarey Coddsaid in a news release. Turner is Kingston’s mother.
The release did not say if Kingston is facing charges as well, but an attorney representing a company currently suing Kingston said the raid was related to his February lawsuit. Both Kingston and his mother have been named in previous lawsuits stemming from allegations of unpaid goods and services, court records show.
Dennis Card, an attorney forVer Ver Entertainment, the company currently suing Kingston over breach of contract and fraud, had been standing outside of the home along with more than 30 SWAT team members Thursday afternoon, waiting to get inside. He said he saw Kingston’s mother in handcuffs.
“I’ve been waiting on this raid for a couple of months now,” Card told theSouth Florida Sun Sentinelas he waited.
Ver Ver Entertainmentinstalled a 232-inch home theater and audio system in Kingston’s home in December, Card said. After making a down payment of $30,000, Kingston never paid the company for the full balance, the lawsuit claims. The system is worth about $150,000.
When Card emerged from the home on Thursday afternoon, he described it as a “full-blown raid.” Deputies were “basically taking everything in the house,” he said, not just those pertaining to his lawsuit.
“People love negative energy!” Kingston wrote in an Instagram story Thursday afternoon. “I am good, and so is my mother! … My lawyers are handling everything as we speak.”
TheMiami-based attorney representing Kingston and his mother,Robert Rosenblatt, told theSun Sentinelthat he did not have much information about the allegations against his clients.
“These are fine people, and I’d be surprised if the allegations were true,” Rosenblatt said Thursday afternoon.
Card said Kingston convinced his client to sell to the singer by saying he was working withJustin Bieberand would include their products on social media to help drive business to them.
Kingston toured with Bieber in 2010 and collaborated him on the hit song “Eenie Meenie.” He is best known for his popular songs “Beautiful Girls” and “Fire Burning.”
Kingston also has a history of “fraudulent conduct,” according to Ver Ver Entertainment’s complaint. In 2015, a judgment was entered against him for obtaining over $300,000 worth of watches without paying for them. A similar judgment was entered a year later pertaining to his failure to pay for over $300,000 in jewelry. And in 2022, he was sued for allegedly failing to pay for two watches worth over $1 million together; the disposition of that case is unclear.
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Explore all your optionsCard’s client and three workers went to the home to disassemble the home theater system and take it back Thursday, he said.
“They’re super happy they’re getting their stuff back,” Card said. “They were working their butts off trying to make it … it’s just a huge financial hit for them.”
Erick Passo, 36, sued Kingston and his mother over contract and indebtedness in 2010, court records show. He said the lawsuit had to do with a 2008 concert inBrazilthat Kingston did not show up for, but he discontinued the lawsuit because he could not afford lawyers. He was 19 at the time.
“It was one of the worst times in my life,” Passo said.
Reacting to the news of the raid, he said, “Sooner or later, the guys that do bad to other people, they’re going to go down. It’s inevitable. I wish I was in the position I am today. I would’ve gone further with lawyers and whatnot.”
ACoral Gablesattorney who had represented Kingston in that lawsuit was not in the office Thursday afternoon and did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Earlier this month, Kingston’s mother was sued for allegedly not paying several months’ rent on a beachside home inFort Lauderdale, according to the attorney representing the property owners. The rent was $25,000 per month, which Turner stopped paying several months prior to the end of the yearlong lease, according to the complaint.
Jeffrey Harrington, the attorney representing the property owners, said that they were in the process of filing the complaint and may have to try to serve Turner while she is incarcerated.
In 2017, Turner was sued over the failure to pay $70,000 in costs for jewelry purchased fromNew York. Sean Kingston’s name was written on the top of the purchase order. The attorney for the jewelers did not immediately return voicemails or emails Thursday.
By late Thursday afternoon, authorities, Card and his clients had entered the mansion, and the surroundings had quieted. TwoU-Haultrucks had been parked in the driveway, presumably to carry items confiscated from within, Card said, as well as a Broward sheriff’s RV with its lights flashing. One of the U-Hauls left about an hour later.
A tow truck arrived in the late afternoon and took a black SUV from the driveway. Deputies appeared to search a garage; one reemerged with a box. Another appeared to enter a black Bentley parked in the driveway.
Along the road outside the mansion’s gates, drivers slowed down to observe the spectacle. Some asked reporters what was going on; others took out their phones to record. One person played “Beautiful Girls” from their car speakers.
©2024 South Florida Sun Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
