“Reality TV has nothing to do with reality.”
Reality star Jennifer Shah has received a six and half year prison term over a fraud scheme.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star is said to have scammed thousands of individuals through a nearly ten-year-long telemarketing scheme.
Shah, aged 49, was sentenced by US District Judge Sidney H Stein for being the mastermind of a widespread scheme that preyed on those who had little means and were technologically illiterate.
Jennifer Shah pleaded and confessed to the conspiracy allegation in July 2022.
In contrast to Shah’s attorney’s proposal of three years in jail, prosecutors asked for a 10-year prison sentence.
This would have been one year more than the minimum sentence recommended by the federal sentencing guidelines.
Assistant US Attorney Robert Sobelman said Shah was a leader of a “clear and brazen fraud” that stretched from 2012 to March 2021.
Among the more than 30 defendants, Sobelman said she was the most responsible:
“She always knew what she was doing wrong.”
By lying to investigators and acting evasively to hide her real participation in the scam, Shah allegedly tried to stall the inquiry into her wrongdoings.
Stein stated at the beginning of the hearing that he was not passing judgement on the Shah family member or friend that the public sees on television.
Stein said that person was “simply a character. It’s acting”.
And he added that the housewives program “involves role-playing… It’s a heavily scripted operation.”
His words were echoed by Jennifer Shah, who told the judge:
“Reality TV has nothing to do with reality.”
She apologised to the “innocent people” she hurt and pledged to pay $6.5 million (£5.3 million) in restitution and forfeiture when she gets out of prison.
In court, Jennifer Shah expressed her regret and said:
“I struggled to accept responsibility for the longest time because I deluded myself into believing… that I did nothing wrong.
Calling it her “own fractured reality”, Shah continued:
“For years I blamed other people for putting me in this position.
“I alone am responsible for my terrible decisions. It was all my fault and all my wrongdoing.”
“I have no one to blame but myself. I wish I could have stood outside myself and seen the harm I was causing and changed course.
“I am profoundly and deeply sorry.”
During the hearing, defence lawyer Priya Chaudhry said her client has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent months.
Chaudhry commented: “Remorse can be genuine even if it shows up late. Her apology is real.”
Shah exited the courthouse without speaking to the media after the sentence was given.
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