RHOSLC’s Jen Shah Requests Reduced Prison Sentence Amid Guilty Plea: I Had ‘Personal Painful Experiences’

18.12.2022 - 20:15 / usmagazine.com

Ahead of Jen Shah’s sentencing hearing, the Bravo star has requested a shorter prison sentence.

“The terrible business decisions I made and professional relationships I developed stemmed from some personal painful experiences that I was going through in my life,” the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City personality, 49, wrote in a four-page letter to the judge, which CNN obtained on Saturday, December 17.

Shah’s note — titled “How I got involved in the situation?” — revealed that she is hoping to receive a prison sentence of three years. The Utah native pleaded guilty to fraud earlier this year and is facing a maximum prison sentence of 30 years with five years of supervised release.

The entrepreneur and assistant Stuart Smith were arrested in March 2021 for their alleged roles in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims, many of whom were older than 55 years old. While both Shah and Smith initially pleaded not guilty on all counts, the Bravolebrity changed her plea in July.

“In 2012 to March 2021 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere I agreed with others to commit wire fraud,” Shah told Judge Sidney Stein during a hearing at the time, in which she noted that she knew her actions were “wrong and illegal,” according to Good Morning America. “I knew this was wrong. I knew many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.”

The former marketing professional — whose sentencing was postponed until January 6, 2023 — opened up about the fraud trial throughout RHOSLC season 3, which premiered in September. While Shah continued to maintain her innocence during the episodes, her future as a Housewife remains up in the air.

“She’s being sentenced on December 15, so I don’t know what to say to people who want her on the