wire fraud
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Sean Kingston is now facing a hefty prison sentence after he and his mother were federally indicted and charged with wire fraud totaling $1 million.
Last Friday (July 19), singer and rapper Sean Kingston was indicted in a federal courtroom in Miami, Florida along with his mother, Janice Turner on charges connected with a $1 million wire fraud scheme. The listed charges are one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud charges with the intent to defraud victim sellers of high-end specialty vehicles, jewelry, and other goods bought with fraudulent documents. If convicted, both face a prison sentence of up to twenty years.
In their statement, the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida said that Kingston, aka Kisean Anderson and Turner “unjustly enriched themselves by falsely representing that they had executed bank wire or other monetary payment transfers.” The businesses targeted included a car dealership, from which Kingston and Turner are alleged to have stolen a Cadillac Escalade, and one individual who alleges that the two stole $480,000 in jewelry from them.
An attorney for that individual says that Kingston’s method was “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 is best known for his 2007 single “Beautiful Girls”, which spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He’s worked with Bieber, Wyclef Jean, and Nicki Minaj before stepping back from music.
The 34-year-old artist was arrested in Fort Irwin, California on May 24 which was the same day that a SWAT team and other police officers conducted a raid on Kingston’s home in the Southwest Ranches suburb of Fort Lauderdale. Turner, 61, was arrested during that raid. Both have had their issues with the law – Kingston is also accused of violating a probation sentence related to felony charges of trafficking stolen property which ends in October 2025. Turner served 16 months in prison after being convicted of filing fraudulent loan applications in 2006.
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Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty / Bishop Lamor Whitehead
Canal Street shopper and real-like scamming villain Bishop Lamor Whitehead’s fraud trial has begun, and the allegations coming out are very eyebrow-raising.
The “Bling Bishop,” who became a household name after thieves relieved him of his jewelry during a live stream of his church service, could be in serious trouble if these accusations about him are true.
The New York Daily News reports that Whitehead allegedly abused the trust of members of his flock and lied about getting “the key to the city” from Mayor Mixxy, aka Eric Adams, to make his pockets fatter and fill his closet with more than likely fugazi designer clothing like Loius Vuitton according to federal prosecutors.
A Breakdown of The N*ggler’s Fraudulent Activity Per The New York Daily News:
“During this trial, you’ll learn that the defendant was trusted by many in his community. He was the bishop of a small church in Brooklyn and a self-described businessman. He was a friend to the mayor of New York City,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Greenwood said in Manhattan Federal Court.
“The defendant abused that trust by lying again and again. He lied about how much money he had. He lied about his business plans. And he lied about having influence with powerful people. All with the goal of getting money and property to fund his extravagant lifestyle.”
“The defendant convinced this woman, who had spent her career working as a nurse, to give him $90,000 of her life savings,” Greenwood said. “He promised to use the money to buy a fixer-upper home that he would renovate for her to live in. And she believed the defendant — a man, who by that time, had become a mentor and spiritual adviser to her son.”
Greenwood alleged Whitehead instead spent the cash on himself, including splurging on designer clothing and a BMW payment.
“The victim never got her house, and she never got her money back.”
Other Charges
In other related charges to the December 2022 case, Whitehead allegedly drew up fake bank statements to secure a $250,000 loan, claiming he had millions in a bank account that only had $6.
In another charge, he threatened the owner of a Bronx body shop, Brandon Belmonte, and allegedly tried to extort him for $5,000 following a repair job.
Whitehead also tried to get Belmonte to put his name on a $500,000 real estate deal, claiming he could get favors from Mayor Adams to make them millions.
The 47-year-old “religious figure” is being accused of wire fraud, extortion, and related offenses and is looking at a decades-long prison sentence.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorney, Dawn Florio, asked the jurors to reserve judgment until they saw all the evidence and blamed the parishioner’s misfortunes on her son.
If this is all true, this guy sounds like the ultimate scumbag.
Remember, God doesn’t like ugly.
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DJ Envy is still a free man as of this moment but it appears that the long arm of the law will be closing in on him soon, that is if the allegations of fraud are true. The longtime radio host and entrepreneur is facing a mountain of claims that DJ Envy and Cesar Pina swindled prospective homeowners out of millions in botched real estate deals.
Earlier this month, we shared details of a News 4 NY I-Team report that dug into the nuts and bolts of the alleged real estate fraud claims that DJ Envy and Cesar Pina are facing. Often on his popular morning radio program, The Breakfast Club, Envy would mention the promotion of his real estate partnership with Pina.
Beyond The Breakfast Club, Envy and Pina hit the road for seminars and public appearances promoting methods for others to join in on their real estate hauls and get into flipping houses for profit.
Last week, Pina was arrested and facing charges of wire fraud in connection to the FlippingNJ business that he allegedly operated with Env. Pina pleaded not guilty to the charges and is now free on a $1 million bond. He is required to wear an ankle monitor and cannot leave the state of New Jersey.
Given the explosive nature of the claims and the celebrity status of DJ Envy, it didn’t take long for Black Twitter (yes, we’re still calling it that) to get into the mess with their takes and reactions. Of course, the jokes are all over the place with some even realizing that the writing was on the wall based on some of Envy’s online moves.
Check out the reactions below.
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Photo: Johnny Nunez / Getty
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