Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, were both in the courtroom in Broward County on Tuesday for the second day of their trial, in which they face charges of allegedly defrauding multiple businesses of more than $1 million. In arriving and leaving the courthouse, Kingston carried a Bible in his hand. Departing in a black SUV, Kingston gave a shout out to his fans while addressing reporters. "All my fans that supported me, I love you guys," he said. The latest appearance comes after the court narrowed down a jury to 12 members and one alternate. The group consists of nine women and four men.
Several witnesses spoke on the stand on Tuesday, as caught by XXL. Ariel Mateos, owner of one company that sold the singer a 232-inch television valued at $115,000, claimed that Sean Kingston did give him a down payment of $30,000, but allegedly used fake wire transfer receipts to avoid paying him the remaining balance. In addition to Mateos, a car salesman and a watch dealer both made similar accusations against Kingston.
Sean Kingston Trial Update
Overall, Sean Kingston and his mother face five counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They've already pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Authorities arrested both of them, last year, after a dramatic raid on one of the singer's properties. They alleged they Kingston took advantage of his fame to convince people into giving him expensive things like jewelry, cars and, furniture and never paying for them. He'd allegedly used fraudulent documents to continue putting off paying for items.
Ariel Mateos' lawyer, Dennis Carr, previously detailed Kingston's alleged scheme while speaking with reporters outside of the singer's home on the day it was raided by authorities. "He's got basically a script," Carr said at the time. "He says that he works with Justin Bieber and that he 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 he simply never pays."
[Via]