Photo: Chris Haston/Bravo via Getty
Jen Shahhas officially reported to prison for her controversial telemarketing fraud scheme.
TheReal Housewives of Salt Lake Citystar, 49, entered FPC Bryan Prison in Bryan, Texas, on Friday, PEOPLE can confirm. This is the same minimum-security facility former Theranos CEOElizabeth Holmesisexpected to complete her 11-year stint. However, Shah will serve a 78-month sentence.
TMZ was the first to reportthe news.
Ahead of Shah entering prison, her attorney Priya Chaudhry issued a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, sharing, “Jen Shah’s resolve to make her victims whole and to turn her life around is unyielding.”
The statement continued: “Her path ahead will be filled with challenges, but with the unwavering love and support of her family and friends, Jen is prepared to face these challenges head-on and emerge from this experience a better person who makes a positive impact on others.”
On Jan. 6, Shah and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a telemarketing scheme and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Shah wasarrestedtwo years earlier, in March 2021, and pleaded not guilty in April 2021. Her assistantpled guiltyin November 2021, but Shah maintained her innocence until a court hearing in July 2022 when shereversed her plea.
“Ms. Shah is a good woman who crossed a line,” her attorney told PEOPLE at the time. “She accepts full responsibility for her actions and deeply apologizes to all who have been harmed. Ms. Shah is also sorry for disappointing her husband, children, family, friends, and supporters. Jen pled guilty because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family.”
Jen Shah sentencing.NBC News
Last month, a New York judge sentenced her to 6.5 years in prison. She also receivedfive years of supervisionafter her sentence “to make sure youdon’t end up committing another crime,” Judge Stein told Shah.
While the case was going down, Shah still appeared onRHOSLC. Her legal drama was a major plotline in the show’s second and third seasons. Bravo announced she wouldstay on as a cast membershortly after her guilty plea, a source adding that the case was a “very big part of Jen’s story” and the producers would “keep filming her as long as they [could].”
Jen Shah Instagram
Some of her castmates recently revealed on theRHOSLCreunion thatShah asked them for moneyto help her with the trial expenses.
“They solicited friends for money and a lot of our friends gave them money,” sharedHeather Gay, Shah’s close friend. “I did not give them money but I know people on this couch did.”
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She also said she would visit Shah in prison “depending on where she goes,” but would be sure to check in on Shah’s husband,“Coach” Sharreif Shah, and her two kids.
“I will write her if she wants that and I will look in on [son] Omar and Coach and I don’t know,” she added.
source: people.com
