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Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah gripped her bodyguard’s arm as she arrived at court in New York this morning to be sentenced for wire fraud.
The reality T star pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in July in a dramatic defense U-Turn.
She had been charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in relation to what prosecutors described as a nationwide, telemarketing scheme.
Shah and her colleagues are accused of fraudulently collating and then selling ‘lead lists’ to companies. A person on such a list would then be lured into a never-ending payments or subscriptions service which they couldn’t, or didn’t know how to, get out of.
Federal prosecutors are seeking a prison term of 10 years for Shah, 49.
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Real Housewives star Jen Shah arrives in court to be sentenced today for fraud. She is facing 10 years in prison
Jen Shah gripped her bodyguard’s arm as she entered the courthouse on Friday morning
Reality TV star Jen Shah arrives at court in New York City to be sentenced for wire fraud
Shah, one of the most bombastic characters in her franchise of the Bravo reality TV series, denied any wrongdoing for months.
She dramatically changed her plea in July following the guilty plea of her former assistant, Stuart Smith.
As part of the case, Shah forfeited dozens of genuine and counterfeit designer bags and counterfeit jewelry.
There were dozens of fake Chanel and Hermes bags on the list.
Shah, who is married with two kids, proudly presented herself as a spendthrift on the Bravo show.
She boasted about spending $80,000 on a friend’s birthday party and would frequently refer to her ‘Shah squad’.
Her husband, Sharrieff Shah, is a football coach for the University of Washington. He was not with Shah as she entered court today, but was inside with their two sons for the sentencing.
In their sentencing motion to the court, prosecutors gave a blistering description of Shah’s crimes.
‘For nearly a decade, the defendant was an integral leader of a wide-ranging, nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that victimized thousands of innocent people. Many of those people were elderly or vulnerable.
‘Many of those people suffered significant financial hardship and damage.
‘At the defendant’s direction, victims were defrauded over and over again until they had nothing left.
‘She and her co-conspirators persisted in their conduct until the victims’ bank accounts were empty, their credit cards were at their limits, and there was nothing more to take.
Shah is shown inside the courthouse. She added a COVID-19 mask before entering the courtroom
The 49-year-old kept her sunglasses on once inside the courthouse
‘Despite the defendant’s best efforts, she got caught. She then went on a public offensive and tried to profit off the charges by selling “Justice for Jen” merchandise. She pled guilty at the eleventh hour, only after receiving the Government’s trial exhibits and witness statements.
‘In light of her conduct and her post-arrest behavior, her belated expressions of remorse ring hollow,’ US Attorney Damian Williams wrote.
They slammed Shah for not only claiming publicly to be innocent, but for also ‘mocking’ the case with comments such as ‘the only thing I’m guilty of is being Shah-mazing.’
She had been facing a maximum of 20 years per charge if the case had gone to trial.
If sentenced to 10 years, she may be released within five.
Shah’s attorneys has asked for a term of three years.
‘We submit that such a sentence is just and fair because it takes into account Ms. Shah’s history and characteristics, the facts and circumstances of the offense, and meets that a court impose a sentence that is ‘not greater than necessary’ to achieve the goals of punishment,’ her lawyer Priya Chaudhry wrote in a December filing.
The 49-year-old is one of the most bombastic characters in the Bravo series she stars in
Police seized dozens of counterfeit bags and pieces of jewelry from Shah’s home
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