Jen Shah might be spending a whole decade behind bars for her telemarketing fraud…
As you know, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star shockingly pled guilty in July to committing “wire fraud” and knowingly offering fake services to people “over the age of 55.” Last we heard, Jen potentially faced up to 14 years behind bars and could be forced to shell out up to $9.5 million in restitution in her January 2023 sentencing. But 14 years is a maximum, how long is she really looking at? We’re talking months, right? Well, sort of. The US government is saying they want her in jail for 120 months.
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In court documents obtained by People on Friday, the government explained their reasoning for requesting Jen get a full 10 years, saying the Bravolebrity “took a series of increasingly extravagant steps to conceal her criminal conduct from the authorities” and “engaged in a years-long, comprehensive effort to hide her continued role in the scheme”:
“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.”
Decade of victimizing, decade of prison? Oof.
The documents also argued the reality TV star is “the most culpable person charged in this case,” meaning she should get the biggest sentence. They also say her behavior after her arrest should warrant a longer sentence, including when she “on a public offensive against the charges and tried to profit off the charges by selling ‘Justice for Jen’ merchandise”. They even blast her so-called apologies, saying her “belated expressions of remorse ring hollow.” Because of all this, the legal system believes 10 YEARS in jail is “sufficient.”
Will she really get that long??
The Bravo star won’t be back on the show anytime soon, either way. You may remember during BravoCon 2022 executive producer Andy Cohen revealed once season 3 was done, that was the end of “the engagement”:
“Once we wrapped [Season 3 and] she pled guilty, I think that was kind of, unfortunately, the end of, you know, the engagement there. But I hope to sit down with her and talk to her at some point on camera because I have a lot of questions for her.”
Jen is still facing her court date in January, and we truly hope she’s in a better place now amid all of the continuous legal battles. As for justice, well… what do YOU think, Perezcious paralegals?
[Image via YouTube/Bravo]
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