[ad_1]
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has revealed she ‘didn’t think I’d make it through the day’ as she began her six-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
Her husband Sharrieff ‘Coach’ Shah read correspondence she has sent from behind bars, where she detailed suffering a panic attack on the way to Bryan Federal Prison Camp, Texas.
‘I could not breathe and my hands went numb,’ she wrote. ‘I knew I was having an anxiety attack.’
Shah, one of the most bombastic characters on the Bravo show, was locked up last month after eventually admitting to a years-long telemarketing scam that preyed on the elderly and vulnerable.
Shah, left, was sentenced to over six years in prison for a years-long telemarketing scam that preyed on the elderly and vulnerable. She is pictured leaving Manhattan Federal Court following her sentencing
Jen’s husband Sharrieff ‘Coach’ Shah, who controls her Instagram accounts while she is incarcerated, shared her first journal entry from behind bars
Writing about her time in prison, the TV personality said she became overwhelmed with emotion two miles out from the Texas federal prison.
‘I made Coach pull over because our reception was poor while driving and I was not able to Facetime my oldest baby,’ she continued.
‘We finally connected, I saw his face, and I cried so hard until he reassured me that it would be okay.
‘I didn’t think I’d make it through today. It felt surreal as we drove to Bryan FPC just minutes away from having to surrender.
‘My worst fear and the unimaginable was about to happen – having to say goodbye to my sweet husband and precious baby Omar (he’ll always be my baby even though he’s a senior in HS).’
Her surrender to prison on February 17 came after she pleaded guilty to fraud last year – despite previously protesting her innocence for months both on-air and on social media.
She was sentenced to over six years in prison after admitting to orchestrating a telemarketing scheme that targeted susceptible elderly and vulnerable individuals.
Shah duped her victims into buying fake business mentoring, before they found themselves in unrelenting subscription payments they couldn’t get out of.
At her sentencing hearing, prosecutors told how she callously laughed with colleagues when some of the victims called them in tears begging to be released from the debts.
But after being imprisoned for the con, Shah took to Instagram two weeks ago to apologize for her crime.
‘I am surrendering to serve a sentence in federal prison today,’ she wrote.
‘It is the price I must pay for the bad decisions I made. People got hurt because of my decisions.
‘While incarcerated, I will work to make amends and reconcile with the victims of my crime.
‘In time, I pray that people will judge me for the way I responded to this sentence, rather than only for the decisions that led me to prison.’
Last month, Shah also took to Instagram to share her final thoughts before she surrendered to prison
The reality TV star said she wanted to be held ‘accountable’ as she served her sentence for fraud
Shah asked to be sent to FPC Bryan, a minimum security camp in Bryan, Texas
The 49-year-old is one of the most bombastic characters in The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Jen, center, said she broke down on her way to prison until she could Facetime her sons
While standing trial, prosecutors rejected her requests for leniency, arguing that she was facing charges because she ran a cold-hearted fraud that swindled money from the defenseless.
‘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,’ wrote US Attorney Damian Williams.
‘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.
‘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.’
Speaking to her 234,000 Instagram followers, Sharrieff said it had taken ‘so long’ for her to reconnect with her fans because federal prisons review every piece of correspondence before they are allowed to be released.
FPC Bryan, where she was requested to be sent, is a minimum security female prison around 100 miles from Houston, Texas.
‘I also need you to understand that it has taken my wife some time to actually put pen to paper,’ he added.
‘Initially she had a very difficult time capturing a lot of her experience.’
Police seized dozens of counterfeit bags and pieces of jewelry from Shah’s home following her arrest
When she first entered prison on February 17, her attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told DailyMail.com she was ‘committed to serving her sentence with courage and purpose.
‘Jen Shah’s resolve to make her victims whole and to turn her life around is unyielding.
‘She is committed to serving her sentence with courage and purpose, fueled by her desire to make amends for the hurt she has caused and to help others in her new community.
‘No obstacle will deter Jen from making the most of her time in prison and she’s determined to make restitution to those whose lives she has impacted.
‘Her path ahead will be filled with challenges, but with the unwavering love and support of her family and friends, Jen is prepared to face these challenges head-on and emerge from this experience a better person who makes a positive impact on others.’
[ad_2]
Source link
