Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah will finally learn her sentence on January 6, 2023. In 2021, Jen was arrested for federal charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a telemarketing scheme.
Heather Gay’s Beauty Lab parking lot will never be the same. Jen’s assistant Stuart Smith was facing the same charges. Jen continued to proclaim her innocence to her RHOSLC co-stars. Meanwhile, Stuart changed his plea to guilty. It certainly looked like Stuart might be prepared to spill all the tea about Jen.
Jen shocked the Bravoverse when she pleaded guilty to the count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The money laundering charge was dropped. The RHOSLC star requested that she serve 11 to 14 years in prison in her plea agreement. She would also have to pay up to $9.5 million in restitution.
Jen admitted to the judge that her actions were “wrong and illegal.” Jen stated, “Wire fraud, offering services with little to no value. We used interstate telephone and emails.” She continued, “I knew many of the purchasers were over the age of 55. I am so sorry.”
But in a new letter written to the judge, Jen asked for a reduced sentence. “The terrible business decisions I made and professional relationships I developed stemmed from some personal painful experiences that I was going through in my life,” she wrote in the letter, which was titled, “How I got involved in the situation?” Greed? Just wondering. Jen also submitted 30 letters of support to the judge from friends and family.
Jen’s defense attorneys stated that because Jen wasn’t a “kingpin” of the scheme, she should receive a reduced sentence. However, prosecutors accused Jen of generating the leads for the fraudulent telemarketing scheme. “Just as Jen Shah has never been a ‘housewife,’ little else is real about her persona and caricature as portrayed by the editors of RHOSLC,” Jen’s defense attorneys stated. What?!
Radar Online reported that Jen’s husband, Sharrieff Shah Sr., is also pleading for leniency on behalf of his wife. He submitted a six-page letter to the court. In the letter, Coach Shah stated that Jen committed the crimes partly because she was doing business with “awful people” and making “catastrophically bad business decisions.”
Coach Shah explained that Jen is a committed mother and wife. He pointed out that Jen “took the first huge step” by accepting the guilty plea and admitting to her actions.
“Jen has expressed her genuine remorse to me so many times for what she has done and the people hurt by her criminal actions,” he wrote to the judge. “Jennifer is truly a good woman, mother, wife, sister, and daughter who made bad decisions.”
Coach Shah noted that a more lenient sentence would “allow Jen to return to work sooner” and pay the restitution owed to the victims.
“My wife is not a career criminal, and she has no prior criminal history. She is committed to doing whatever it takes to make things right,” Jen’s devoted husband added. “Although many judicial officers in your position believe justice requires punishment, please bear in mind that my wife has been dealing with a level of punishment since the day she was arrested on March 30, 2021,” Coach Shah wrote. “Judge Stein, I beg you to please show mercy on my wife when issuing your sentence.”
I never expected Jen to take a plea. I don’t know how this will all play out, but I know that I will be paying attention on Jen’s sentencing day.
TELL US: DO YOU THINK THAT THE LETTERS SUPPORTING JEN WILL SWAY THE JUDGE? SHOULD JEN GET A REDUCED SENTENCE?
[Photo Credit: Nicole Weinagart/Bravo]