Jen Shah of ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ gets 6.5 years for fraud scheme

By Jack Queen

Jan 6 (Reuters) – Reality TV star Jen Shah was sentenced
to 6-1/2 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to
running a nationwide telemarketing scam that bilked elderly
victims of tens of millions of dollars.

Shah, who projected a glamorous lifestyle on “The Real
Housewives of Salt Lake City,” pleaded guilty to one count of
wire fraud conspiracy and admitted to luring thousands of
elderly victims into draining their bank accounts and maxing out
their credit cards to buy nonexistent “business services.”

Standing before a packed courtroom in federal court in
Manhattan, wearing a tan pantsuit and stiletto heels, Shah said
through tears that she was “profoundly and deeply sorry” and had
“deluded” herself into believing she was doing nothing wrong.

“I alone am responsible for my terrible decisions,” she
said.

Shah’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement after
the hearing that her client intends to pay her debts to society
and her victims.

U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein delivered the sentence,
ordering Shah to pay more than $6.5 million in restitution and
surrender a laundry list of luxury goods she acquired over the
years.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a
statement that Shah “finally faces the consequences of the many
years she spent targeting vulnerable, elderly victims.”

‘JUSTICE FOR JEN SHAH’

Shah, 49, began selling leads on people susceptible to scams
to telemarketers around 2012 and later ran her own sales floor
where underlings cold-called elderly victims offering bogus
business opportunities, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Shah was the ringleader of a network of more
than two-dozen people indicted in the scheme.

Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 10 years in prison,
saying Shah had shown no remorse and went to great lengths to
conceal her crimes.

Shah initially denied the allegations after her arrest in
March 2021 and sold merchandise attesting to her innocence. She
pleaded guilty a week before trial and said on Friday that the
money she made selling “Justice For Jen Shah” apparel will go to
victims.
(Reporting by Jack Queen; editing by Amy Stevens and Leslie
Adler)