Photo Credit: Sean Kingston by Irwandy Mazwir / CC by 2.0
Sean Kingston and his mother file a motion to dismiss the federal case against them related to alleged jewelry theft and wire fraud.
Rapper Sean Kingston, who along with his mother was arraigned back in August on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges, has filed a motion to dismiss the federal case against them. The pair were arrested in May, and taken into custody for accusations including defrauding victims of high-end cars, jewelry, and other goods allegedly purchased using fraudulent documents.
“We believe he’s innocent and we’re looking forward to trying his case in state or federal court or both if necessary,” attorney Robert Rosenblatt said after the arraignment. “We advised the court that we are going to be filing some motions regarding the double jeopardy issues and federal and state court,” he said at the time.
Now the motion to dismiss has been filed in Florida State Court in Fort Lauderdale on December 31. The defendants note they would alternatively ask to “permit discovery and set an evidentiary hearing” at the federal level should the court deny the motion for dismissal.
Kingston’s attorneys assert the federal prosecutor in the case is colluding with the state prosecutor to bring the federal indictment first in order to support the federal jurisdiction claim. They also insist Florida State Court is the proper venue for their motion to dismiss.
“According to the website of the Ft. Lauderdale United States Attorney’s Office, there are at least 32 attorneys in the criminal and civil departments. It should be noted that AUSA Anton is designated as a ‘national security section’ prosecutor in the Ft. Lauderdale office,” the motion reads.
“This wire fraud indictment certainly is not a threat to national security. In this case, there was no federal involvement other than AUSA Anton bringing the indictment. There were no federal agents at the search and no federal arrests until the voluntary surrender to the Marshalls on July 19, 2024.”
“It cannot be a coincidence that of all of the prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office that AUSA Anton was randomly assigned to this case,” they conclude. “This has the appearance of vindictiveness, which is enough to place burden on the prosecution to show a legitimate motive.”
The filing also asserts that “it was agreed that the indictment would be filed before the state information in order to support the federal jurisdiction.” Therefore, they write, the prosecution in this case is “selective and vindictive.”
The defendants are requesting a court order to dismiss the case. Alternatively, they ask the court to enter an order granting discovery on the issues raised, and to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine if dismissal is warranted.