Jen Shah legal case update: RHOSLC star requests for reduced prison sentence after pleading guilty in telemarketing scheme

RHOSLC star Jen Shah pleaded guilty to a telemarketing fraud charge in July 2022. She had initially pleaded not guilty but decided to switch her plea because of a reduced prison charge in the deal. Her plea deal could land Jen Shah in prison for 11 to 14 years under advisory guidelines.

Following her sentencing submission, Shah is now requesting that the judge reduce her prison time, which is expected to be spent in a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, to three years. Shah’s legal team argued that Jen was not the "Godfather" or "Kingpin" of the fraud, claiming that the RHOSLC star had no direct contact with the victims.

Her legal team also added that although Jen Shah provided the "leads" of the people who were involved in the crime, she did not "create, organize, control, or run this multipronged/multi-state conspiracy." They stated that many of the co-defendants were able to "carry out" their crimes.

In addition, Jen wrote to the judge herself, saying:

"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."

Other than that, Jen’s sentencing submission also had 30 letters from her friends and family supporting her. It also included her husband’s letter, which mentioned Jen’s "sincere desire to correct her past wrongs."

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Jen Shah's lawyers don't want her appearance on RHOSLC to impact her sentencing

Lawyers defending Jen Shah have asked the judge to ignore Jen’s portrayal on TV as her show, RHOSLC, is semi-scripted and heavily edited. The legal team wrote that the show has made Jen appear "intransigent, defiant, and often even unrepentant, about her actions here." They also said that her appearance on RHOSLC did not "match the posture of Ms. Shah's case or reflect her accurate sentiments" in the fraud case.

Jen's legal team stated how she has never even been a housewife, and her "persona and caricature" is not real on RHOSLC, so the show should not enter the court’s "calculus" while sentencing Shah. Jen will also not be appearing on the new RHOSLC season 3 reunion episode because she did not want to discuss her legal battle on camera, which the Bravo TV network felt was "unsatisfactory."

Jen’s legal team also alleged that her son was having nightmares because the police "pointed an assault rifle at his head and heart."

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Details about Jen Shah's legal troubles

On March 30, 2021 (while shooting for the second season of RHOSLC), Jen and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested in Utah. Both were allegedly the creators and managers of a telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted people over the age of 55, calling the victims "leads."

As Jen and Smith offered many telemarketing companies the personal information of these vulnerable adults, they earned a profit from the share of the fraudulent revenue, which was in accordance with the terms of their agreement with the participants. The telemarketing companies then targeted the "leads" with the same information to get money from the victims.

Jen is currently charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. Meanwhile, Stuart Smith is currently on bail and has pleaded guilty to his money laundering charges. However, he might face up to 70 years of prison time.

Despite her plea deal, the RHOSLC star will be sentenced in January 2023 and might face a maximum prison time of 30 years.