Jen Shah faces up to fourteen years in prison when she is sentenced on January 6th, 2023, but the reality TV star is begging the court only to sentence her to 36 months behind bars.
In a recently filed request, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star requests three years in jail after pleading guilty to wire fraud in July 2022, just days before she was set to stand trial as part of a nationwide telemarketing scheme that targeted the elderly.
“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,” Jen’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, shared in the sentencing submission filed on Friday, December 16.
Jen’s legal team detailed several reasons why the reality TV star should receive a lighter sentence, noting that Jen had no “direct contact” with the victims and that her “history and characteristics” prove that she deserves to a smaller sentence.
“This case has already cost” Jen, her husband Sharrieff Shah, 51, and their two sons Sharrieff Shah Jr., 28, and Omar, 19, undo “embarrassment, fear, and shame,” Chaudhry explains.
“Jen would never do anything to risk more harm to her children,” Chaudhry argued. “She knows the emotional and psychological toll that her sons have already been forced to pay. These are harms for which she will spend the rest of her life atoning.”
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In Jen’s three-page request, titled “How I got involved in the situation?,” the reality TV star claims she takes “complete responsibility” for the “terrible business decisions” she made over the years.
The request also details the “personal painful experiences” of losing her father and grandmother. Jen claims that being cast for RHOSLC gave her a “real chance to escape” her past, including her unsavory business ventures, and “be the first Tongan [and] Muslim housewife. [She] wanted to set an example for minority girls and women and restart her life.”
“My poor judgment and bad business associations caused innocent people to lose their money and be victimized by investing in poorly structured businesses/products that I influenced or controlled,” Jen wrote. “For that, I am genuinely sorry, and I will work for the rest of my life to make it right.”
Jen’s attorney also argues that her character on RHOSLC is nothing more than a “persona” created by producers and editing.
“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,” her attorneys said.
Jen, and the entire Bravoverse, will learn her fate next month. Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Wednesdays at 9 pm on Bravo.
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