Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah’s 2021 arrest for money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud was shocking. And part of the arrest drama played out in front of Bravo’s cameras. Heather Gay’s Beauty Lab parking lot will never be the same.
Jen spent the second and third seasons of RHOSLC insisting she was innocent of the charges. But her trusty assistant Stuart Smith, who was facing the same charges, changed his plea to guilty. It looked like Stuart was prepared to flip on his boss.
In July 2022, Jen pleaded guilty to the count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection to telemarketing. The money laundering charges were dropped. In her plea, Jen asked for just 11 to 14 years in prison. She would also play restitution of up to $9.5 million.
Ahead of her sentencing, Jen’s defense requested that she only serve three years in prison. Jen’s loyal husband, Sharrieff Shah, wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency. “My wife is not a career criminal, and she has no prior criminal history. She is committed to doing whatever it takes to make things right,” he wrote.
The U.S. government asked that Jen receive a 10-year prison term.
Jen was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, and five years of supervised release. Jen’s husband and two sons accompanied her to court. She spoke to her son during the court proceedings. “To my baby Omar [Shah], Mommy is so sorry you were woken up at gunpoint,” Jen said. “My late father, I want to tell him I am sorry. I am humbled by your love for me.”
According to Page Six, Jen reportedly celebrated receiving her prison sentence with a swanky dinner party. As one does.
Jen and about 20 guests dined and drank at the Italian restaurant Valbella at the Park on Friday night. An insider told Page Six that Jen and her group spent the night “eating and drinking” on the second floor of the restaurant.
The source added, “She had two people standing around her table blocking anyone from taking photos.” We don’t know if Sharrieff, her sons, or her co-stars were present.
A spokesperson for Valbella told Page Six that the establishment does not give out information about its clients. But a photographer for Page Six snapped Jen and her security guard leaving the restaurant. The source claimed that Jen tried to figure out “how to leave without being photographed.”
Jen’s reps did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The fallen RHOSLC star is scheduled to surrender herself on February 17, 2023. I’m not sure that I would throw myself a dinner party to celebrate being sentenced to over six years in prison. The funds for this party should have gone to make restitution to the victims. But that’s just me.
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT JEN HAVING A DINNER PARTY AFTER HER SENTENCING? WAS IT A BAD IDEA? WILL YOU MISS JEN ON RHOSLC?
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