‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ star Jen Shah will almost certainly have to serve time in prison after finally pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 11. Shah was arrested last year for allegedly running a national telemarketing scheme that targeted senior citizens. Up until recently, Shah maintained her innocence and spent the entire second season of the hit reality show trying to defend herself to her castmates.
Jen Shah was facing up to 50 years in prison and was set to go to trial earlier this month. But after Shah’s right-hand man, Stuart Smith, pleaded guilty and flipped on his former boss, Shah eventually opted to change her plea. The judge ordered her to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay $9.5 million in restitution. While Shah will likely receive a reduced sentence since she copped to scamming the elderly for over a decade, she is still looking at a substantial amount of time behind bars.
RHOSLC: Jen Shah Will Serve Jail Time After Pleading Guilty To Wire Fraud, Says Celebrity Lawyer James Leonard Jr.
“Jennifer Shah was a key participant in a nationwide scheme that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims,” noted U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “These victims were sold false promises of financial security but instead Shah and her co-conspirators defrauded them out of their savings and left them with nothing to show for it. his office is committed to rooting out these schemes whatever form they take.” Shah is now looking at a likelihood of 11 to 14 years behind bars.
Celebrity attorney James Leonard Jr. believes that famous people are often held to a higher standard and used to set an ‘example’ for others. “I think that the criminal justice system sometimes dishes out a very heavy hand when the offender is someone of note, whether that be someone that is on television, an athlete or someone that is known to the general public.
I believe that oftentimes, and it’s unfortunate, but oftentimes the criminal justice system seeks to make an example of individuals like that,” he said. “The government makes examples of these individuals, and they are treated harsher than your average citizen. And it’s to send a message that if it can happen to them, it can happen to you.”
James Leonard Jr. also illustrated the fact that prison is difficult regardless of one’s status in the real world. “It’s extremely difficult because you are away from your loved ones. You are away from the amenities that you have grown accustomed to, your lifestyle, and it’s very difficult in that sense.” Jen Shah has lots to leave behind if she were to serve a lengthy jail sentence – her husband of 27 years, Sharrieff, and their two teenage sons, Sharrieff Jr. and Omar.
Leonard Jr. knows a thing or two about representing reality stars. He served as an attorney for Teresa Guidice, another ‘Real Housewives‘ personality who landed herself in the clink after being convicted of mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud in 2014. Teresa spent 11 months at ‘camp’ as she so eloquently called it, while her now-ex husband, Joe Guidice, was slapped with a 41-month prison sentence and was deported for failing to register as a US citizen.
The lawyer, who has developed a friendship with Teresa outside of the courtroom, says that her stint in prison “completely changed [her] physically, mentally, emotionally” and claims that “She came out with a very different mindset than that she went in with”.
Leonard Jr. also had some sound advice for people who choose to enter the reality TV realm while engaging in some shady business dealings behind closed doors. “Individuals that either find themselves in the spotlight or put themselves in the spotlight by participating in reality TV programs should have their affairs in order,” he warned.
