Hours before Jen Shah is set to report to prison after committing fraud, her attorney is speaking out.
“Jen Shah’s resolve to make her victims whole and to turn her life around is unyielding,” Shah’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told Us Weekly in a Friday, February 17 statement about the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, 49. “She is committed to serving her sentence with courage and purpose, fueled by her desire to make amends for the hurt she has caused and to help others in her new community.”
Chaudhry continued: “No obstacle will deter Jen from making the most of her time in prison and she’s determined to make restitution to those whose lives she has impacted.”
The lawyer’s message comes hours before Shah is set to surrender to prison to begin her 6.5-year sentence after being found guilty to commit wire fraud.
The Bravo personality and assistant Stuart Smith were initially 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 the colleagues initially pleaded not guilty on all counts, Shah later changed her plea the following July. (Smith has also changed his plea but has not yet been sentenced.)
“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.”
Shah’s sentencing hearing was postponed until January 6, when she was ultimately sentenced to six and a half years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Judge Stein then ordered the Utah resident to report to jail on Friday.
Hours before Shah is set to surrender to prison in Texas on Friday, she debuted new ink in honor of her family. “You are my everything,” the Shah Lashes founder wrote via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, February 15, revealing a forearm tattoo of the names of her husband, Sharrieff Shah, and their two sons: Sharrieff Jr., 28, and Omar, 19.
While Jen’s new ink will seemingly help her stay grounded amid her prison sentence, Chaudhry is also supportive of her client.
“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,” the attorney concluded in her Friday statement.
