The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah was sentenced on January 6 to six and a half years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a telemarketing scam that largely targeted senior citizens. She was sentenced to five years of supervised release and also ordered to forfeit $6.5 million and 108 luxury items (30 real and 78 counterfeit), as well as pay $6,645,251 in restitution. Shah pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July. When Shah was nabbed by federal agents on March 30, 2021, footage of her made-for-the-tabloids arrest was caught on-camera, ending up in a bombshell RHOSLC episode. Prosecutors said an appropriate sentencing range would be between 135 and 168 months, or 11 to 14 years, in federal lockup. Shah’s legal team asked for mercy in a bizarre argument that leniency would help her give voice to the voiceless, insisting that a 36-month sentence was appropriate. “With today’s sentence, Jennifer Shah finally faces the consequences of the many years she spent targeting vulnerable, elderly victims,†U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in the Department of Justice press release. “These individuals were lured in by false promises of financial security, but in reality, Shah and her co-conspirators defrauded them out of their savings and left them with nothing to show for it. This conviction and sentence demonstrate once again that we will continue to vigorously protect victims of financial fraud and hold accountable those who engage in fraudulent schemes.â€
Shah, who wore a camel ensemble to her sentencing, was emotional while addressing the court, choking up especially as she expressed remorse for the “shame, pain, and tears†she had brought her family, according to Fox News. When Judge Sidney Stein handed down Shah’s sentence, she “stood by the defense table and remained expressionless as sentence was read, just looking down,†journalist Marta Dhanis tweeted. Shah, whose husband and two sons were there, was reportedly surrounded by fans as she left court.
One of Shah’s co-conspirators was Stuart Smith, Shah’s then-assistant and former confidant, who copped to involvement in the scam on November 19, 2021. Manhattan federal prosecutors said the duo “carried out a wide-ranging telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims†across the nation, “many of whom were over age 55.†According to the prosecutor’s office, they targeted vulnerable older victims by peddling questionable “business services.†When Shah came clean in court, she said outright that these business services had “little or no value†and apologized. “I knew this was wrong; I knew people were harmed,†Shah said during her plea. “I am so sorry.†As the proceedings unfolded, Shah suffered more than a fall from grace (if one wants to call having a bombastic reality-TV persona “graceâ€). Court documents show that the Feds seized dozens of fake designer purses when they searched the self-styled fashionista’s house almost two years ago as well as bogus bling. There’s also the matter of the star’s “Shah Ski Chalet.†Impressive as it was, Shah didn’t own the manse, as once implied on the show. Apparently, it was a rental.