Earlier this year, the reality star pleaded guilty to charges stemming from her alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme.
After she pleaded guilty last year to charges stemming from her alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme, Jen Shah has been sentenced for her crimes.
On Friday, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, plus five years of supervised release. She'll surrender herself to prison on Feb. 17. After the sentence was handed down, the 49-year-old tearfully apologized to her husband, Sharrieff Shah, and her two sons, who, according to ABC News, were seated behind her.
"I am profoundly and deeply sorry," Shah said, the news outlet reported.
ABC News also reported that Judge Sidney Stein relayed he was "a little concerned" that the Housewives' manager was in the courtroom and warned her against trying to profit from her crime. The judge also urged her to focus on restitution to the victims involved. ABC News also reported that the judge questioned as to whether Shah was still selling "Free Jen" or "Justice for Chen" merchandise, but the judge was told the merchandise was taken down from her website and proceeds from prior sales would be used to pay restitution.
"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 a statement. "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."
Prior to the sentencing, a source told ET, "Jen and her family are believers in faith and have been relying on that a lot lately. Jen is nervous about the outcome today, but she’s ready to serve her time and put everything behind her. Jen's husband and children have been a great support system for her, and her family is with her today."
Shah was seen arriving in court about 90 minutes ahead of her sentencing. She wore an all-brown ensemble that consisted of a long coat and scarf as she clutched to her cheetah-print purse and iPhone.
Back in July 2022, the reality star appeared in Manhattan federal court and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. The second count, conspiracy to commit money laundering, was dropped at the time.
In December, Shah filed a petition with the presiding judge asking for a reduced sentence of three years behind bars, instead of the advisory sentencing of 11 to 14 years in prison.
According to the filing, Shah claimed, "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."
According to Shah's sentencing submission, her attorneys argued for a reduced sentence by claiming that Shah was not the "kingpin" behind the telemarketing scheme, and that other co-defendants allegedly involved in the scam did not get their "leads" from Shah.
"Many of these co-defendants neither received their leads from Ms. Shah, had any contact with her, nor even knew her," the submission claims. "While it is true that Ms. Shah provided the 'leads' to many of the people involved in this crime, she certainly did not create, organize, control, or run this multi-pronged/multi-state conspiracy."
She faced a potential maximum of 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
Along with her guilty plea, the Bravo celebrity agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay restitution of up to $9.5 million.
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