Singer Sean Kingston, mother arrested after raid on his Florida home

Police and a SWAT team raided singer Sean Kingston’s home in South Florida Thursday, leading to the arrest of him and his mother, The Associated Press reports.

Broward County Sheriff’s Office deputies and SWAT team members from Davie, Florida, were seen at the musician’s Southwest Ranches residence, located 15 miles outside of Fort Lauderdale, serving arrest and search warrants.

FILE – Sean Kingston arrives at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards on Sunday Nov. 18, 2012, in Los Angeles. A SWAT team raided rapper Kingston’s rented South Florida mansion on Thursday, May 23, 2024, and arrested his mother on fraud and theft charges that an attorney says stems partly from the installation of a massive TV at the home. Broward County detectives arrested Janice Turner, 61, at the home in a well-off Fort Lauderdale, Fla., suburb. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Multiple media reports said Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, wasn’t home at the time, but was later arrested in the area. However, his 61-year-old mother, Janice Turner, left the 14,000-square-foot rental home in custody.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t responded to Scripps News’ request for comment.

Reports state the matter is related to a $150,000 entertainment system for which Kingston has failed to fully pay, including for a 232-inch TV and sound system. The singer allegedly told the owners of the company that he and Justin Bieber would do commercials for the entertainment company if they gave him a lower down payment and credit.

In a post to his Instagram story Thursday, Kingston seemed to confirm the raid while downplaying its severity.

“People love negative energy! I am good, and so is my mother!. My lawyers are handling everything as we speak,” the post, which has now been taken down, read.

Kingston is best known for his work in the mid-2000s. He has multiple songs with hundreds of millions of streams on Spotify, including his song with Justin Bieber “Eenie Meenie,” his 2007 No. 1 single “Beautiful Girls” and “Fire Burning.”

This story was originally published by Alex Arger for Scripps News, an E.W. Scripps Company.