Jen Shah Of “Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City” Has Been Sentenced To 6.5 Years In Prison For Wire Fraud
It’s not looking “Shah-mazing” for 49-year-old Jennifer Shah of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Jen was in court in New York this morning to learn her fate for her scheming and scamming people, mostly the elderly. The judge laid down Jen’s punishment today and hit her with a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Jen had better get stocked up on Botox at her co-star Heather Gay‘s Beauty Lab now; she won’t get access for the next six years!
After declaring her innocence for too long, Jen finally took a plea deal last summer and pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Jen was originally facing 30 years in the clink, but thanks to that plea deal, prosecutors knocked it down to a recommended 11 to 14 years behind bars. As part of her plea, Jen also has to pay back $9.5 million in restitution that I guess she’ll have to scam someone else to get. Jen showed up to her sentencing in a very demure beige and leopard print combo. If she was wearing any designer, hopefully, it was actually real this time–we know she loves counterfeits.
"Real Housewives" star Jen Shah arrived for her sentencing hearing in New York City today. Shah pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, for allegedly running a telemarketing scheme that defrauded elderly people out of thousands of dollars. pic.twitter.com/DrYixoSwE3
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 6, 2023
Real Housewives star Jen Shah arrives in court for sentencing
https://t.co/rjewwvvtI9— Caroline Ramsey-Hamilton (@MyRiskAlerts) January 6, 2023
NBC News reports that today’s hearing didn’t start great for Jen. Her lawyer argued that she’s done a lot of good for the community, but Judge Sidney Stein checked a trick:
“What good things could she have been doing, calling elderly people and selling them business opportunities and they would max out their credit cards and get the person to put down an additional credit card and then upsell them for other products?” the judge rhetorically asked. “If there is good in that I want to hear it.”
After both sides argued to the court on what Jen’s punishment should be, Judge Stein handed down the sentence: 6 and half years in jail. Interestingly, NBC says a probation report had previously suggested six years for Jen, so the judge added on another half year for good measure, I guess.
Stein said “thousands of elderly people” lost “tens of millions of dollars” in the scheme led by Shah.
“No victim ever earned promised returns” and they suffered “financial and emotional devastation” as their lives were “turned upside down,” the judge said.
“I don’t know if she appreciates the harm she has caused, I hope she has, I heard the words,” Stein said. “Those people have no way of being made full again… If they are financially, they won’t be emotionally.”
The judge wished Shah well: “I do wish you luck. I know you can put this behind you and when you get out you can rebuild your life.”
NBC suggests that Jen was stone-faced as the judge told her her fate, but TMZ says that Jen sort of lost it:
Jen Shah was just sentenced to 6.5 years behind bars as well as 5 years supervised release. She got emotional in court, sobbing, and telling everyone she was deeply sorry for what she had done … saying, “with the proper medication I can now see what happened.”
I believe TMZ. You’re telling me that Jennifer Shah was not dramatic and instead cool and collected? That’s suspicious in any context.
I hope this is a lesson to the scammers of the world: stop going on Real Housewives! First, Teresa Giudice set the stage paying $100,000 bills in cash on TV for everyone to see, and then Tom Girardi got exposed after flaunting his wealth with Erika Jayne on the show, and now this? If you’re gonna scam, for the love of God, keep it off of television!
Pic: YouTube