Sean Kingston arrested: Everything we know about SWAT raid

Musician Sean Kingston was arrested in San Bernardino County, California, on “numerous fraud and theft charges” on Thursday, police have confirmed.

Kingston, famed for such hits as “Beautiful Girls” and “Take You There,” was taken into custody just hours after his mother, Janice Turner, was arrested on similar charges in South Florida, following a SWAT raid on a mansion the star has been renting.

“This evening, police in Fort Irwin, Calif., arrested Kisean Anderson, aka Sean Kingston without incident on a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest warrant for numerous fraud and theft charges,” the Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement to People. “According to investigators, he will be booked into jail in San Bernardino, Calif.”

The Broward Sheriff’s Office further confirmed to People that arrest and search warrants were served at a residence in Southwest Ranches, Florida. The arrests came following an investigation that is currently active and ongoing.

At the time of Kingston’s arrest, he was out of state for a booked performance in California. Newsweek has contacted representatives of Kingston and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office via email for comment.

The Allegations

Kingston’s arrest came after the company Ver Ver Entertainment filed a lawsuit against the singer back in February. According to the complaint, Kingston has allegedly not paid for items purchased from the company.

Ver Ver Entertainment has accused Kingston of presenting “numerous false representations” to secure discounts, a part of which was claiming that he had a “current and ongoing working relationship” with pop star Justin Bieber.

The two collaborated on the 2010 hit “Eenie Meenie” and the 2011 track “Won’t Stop.” The complaint alleges that Kingston vowed to produce promotional videos with Bieber for the company in exchange for a discount on the goods he had purchased. However, the company stated that it found Kingston has “no ongoing working” relationship with Bieber.

The company accuses Kingston of breaching his contract by failing to pay them following multiple attempts to collect on payments owed back in January.

Following his mother’s arrest and shortly before his own, Kingston took to his Instagram Story to share a post in which he assured that he and his mother were “good.”

“People love negative energy! I am good and so is my mother!” wrote the singer, who added that his “lawyers are handling everything as we speak.”

According to Los Angeles’ KABC, authorities were seen loading a van with goods following Thursday’s raid at Kingston’s rented Florida mansion, which was described at the time of being surrounded by expensive sports cars.

Citing an attorney, KABC has reported that Kingston was accused of defrauding a Florida company that installed a 232-inch television in his home.

Ver Ver Entertainment has further accused Kingston of having “a long history of engaging in fraudulent conduct.” The company has alleged that judgments were entered against Kingston in 2015, 2016 and 2022 for a total more than $650,000 worth of jewelry and watches he purportedly acquired without paying for.

“I filed a lawsuit against Sean Kingston,” attorney Dennis Card told People on Thursday. “A detective in Broward County read my lawsuit and contacted me, and so we went down and gave, with my client, a recorded statement and an affidavit.”

Card further told the outlet that they had been “waiting on this raid for more than two months now.”

Per KABC, Kingston is being held in California pending extradition to Florida.