Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah, who was arrested for wire fraud and sentenced to more than six years in jail in 2023, has been moved out of federal prison
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has been released from federal prison after serving three years of her initial six-and-a-half-year sentence for fraud. The 52-year-old former reality castmember was arrested in March 2021 for her part in a nationwide fraud telemarketing scheme and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud the following year.
According to American news outlets, Jen was moved early on Wednesday, December 10, from a minimum-security federal facility in Bryan, Texas, after serving two years and nine months of her sentence. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) confirmed in a statement she was transferred to “community confinement”, although details of the exact location have not been revealed. It is believed she is either staying in a halfway house or at home, with imposed rules about her movement.
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In a statement given to America’s People magazine, a BOP spokesperson said: “Community confinement means the inmate is in either home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center (RRC, or halfway house). For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not disclose an individual’s specific location while in community confinement.”
Following her arrest in 2021, Jen initially said she was innocent and went on to film another series of the popular Real Housewives franchise. Along with her assistant Stuart Smith, the mum of two was accused of allegedly targeting thousands of individuals in a national fraud scheme. They were later charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and Jen pleaded guilt to the wire fraud charge.
She was sentenced to 78 months (six-and-a-half years) in federal prison in 2023, and agreed to pay $6,500,000 (£4,856,377) as restitution payment. At her sentencing in January 2023, she said: “I am sorry. My actions have hurt innocent people. I want to apologize by saying, I am doing all I can to earn the funds to pay restitution.”
Her initial sentence of six-and-a-half years has been reduced a number of times since she was locked up in February 2023, and at the time of her going to jail her lawyer Priya Chaudhry said her “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,” she continued in her statement.
Jen, who is married to American footballer player-turned-coach Sharrieff Shah, was one of the original members of the Salt Lake City cast when the show premiered in November 2020, alongside neighbours Lisa Barlow, Whitney Rose, Heather Gay, Mary Cosby and Meredith Marks.
Her legal woes became a major talking point after her arrest played out on camera during the show’s second series, and she was later let go by Bravo execs.
Andy Cohen, host of Watch What Happens Live and a number of the Real Housewives’ reunion episodes, confirmed on his radio show last week that Jen would not be retuning to the Salt Lake City franchise, telling listeners, “I wish her all the best in her next life. I would assume she’ll wind up on a reality show of some kind, but won’t be anything I’m working on.”
Source: Mirror
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