new york – Jane Shah, Controversial “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” reality star who pleaded Pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in JulyHe was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for his role in the telemarketing scheme.
Judge Sidney H. Stein ruled Friday that the Bravo celebrity will spend 78 months in prison despite a 120-month sentence prosecutors ordered for conspiracy to defraud after she admitted to participating in a nationwide telemarketing scheme in addition to five years of supervised release. .
Shah also agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and pay $9.5 million in restitution as part of his plea agreement.
“I want every red cent back,” Shah said in his statement to the court on Friday.
The judge ordered the reality star to go before authorities to begin her sentencing Feb. 17.
Fans attend sentencing hearings to see jail time and costumes
Bravo’s fans lined up outside a Manhattan courtroom, in the pouring rain hours before the scheduled hearing, hoping to be the first to learn how many years the reality TV star will spend behind bars.
Apart from his pending jail sentence, fans had another lingering question: What will Shah, who appears on screen wearing designer labels and ornate jewellery, wear to hear his fate? Before the judge heard final words from Shah’s lawyers and prosecutors, he made it clear that his bravo persona was no longer inside the courtroom.
“The character your client plays … is just a character,” Stein said, adding that Shah’s TV appearances are “a heavily scripted operation.” He added that the court would not “confuse” reality with acting.
Shah stepped out of the elevator surrounded by security guards and court officials in a camel-colored suit and leopard-print stiletto heels. After entering the court she took a seat between her husband, Sharif, and eldest son, Sharif Jr., before sitting with her lawyers during the proceedings.
The lawyer says that the victim’s statement turned into Shah’s petition
Initially, Shah pleaded not guilty to the charge of conspiracy to defraud and maintained her innocence for over a year as she continued filming for “RHOSLC.”
Shah’s lawyer, Priya Chaudhary, said her client’s efforts to maintain innocence “were over” after the defendant read statements from victims of his telemarketing scheme, which involved promoting bogus services to enable people to make money through online businesses.
“Even if it seems late, regret can be genuine,” Chowdhury said.
Prosecutors say Shah defrauded thousands of people nationwide, including some as young as 55. Shah’s attorneys said their client was largely unaware of the fraud because he did not speak to or see the victims while operating his business. Prosecutors said Shah’s insinuation that he had hurt the victims was “unfounded.”
Prosecuting Attorney Robert Sobelman said Shah ran his own sales floor and hired people while operating the business in New York for “half a year.” In a statement to Stein, Sobelman noted how prosecutors allegedly found messages on his phone “laughing” with co-conspirators about “deceiving people.”
More:‘Real Housewives’ star Jane Shah has pleaded guilty to fraud
Sobelman said They said the evidence they had collected against Shah went to trial, saying the results would be “devastating” and Shah’s alleged crimes “exceeding” those of his co-conspirators.
Friday’s sentencing was originally scheduled for November. Shah was first detained by authorities in March 2021 in Salt Lake City while Bravo cameras were rolling before a girls’ trip to Vail, Colorado. Shah’s assistant, Stuart Smith, was also arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Smith pleaded guilty in November. According to the people.
Jane Shah addressed the court and apologized to her son
Stein gave Shah a chance to address the court before handing down his verdict.
In her statement, she reiterated that her reality TV persona was “invented, designed” and “edited” for entertainment. Shah tearfully apologized to his family for the “embarrassment” and “embarrassment I have caused them”.
Shah talked about how the trial has affected her family on Wednesday’s episode of “RHOSLC” as she talks to her doctor.
‘Not Guilty’ or ‘Guilty’:‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ star Jane Shah has pleaded not guilty to a telemarketing scheme.
“I feel like I’m not in control,” Shah told her therapist In the episode. “I’m worried, as a mother, that I’ve done something where it affects Omar. … No child should ever go through that.”
In court, she specifically apologized to her younger son Umar. for the “trauma” he experienced in March 2021 after officers pulled a gun on him while trying to arrest his mother.
“I’m so sorry mom,” said Shah. “(I) fully accept the consequences of my actions.”
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U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after Shah’s July hearing that the star was a “key participant” in a “scheme to target elderly, vulnerable victims.”
More:Jane Shah of ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ Arrested, Charged in Massive Telemarketing Scheme
Prosecutors said Shah operated the telemarketing scheme’s Manhattan-based sales floor and controlled day-to-day operations and even moved some business operations to Kosovo to evade law enforcement and regulatory scrutiny.
Shah took various steps to conceal his role in the fraud, prosecutors said, including using third-party names to incorporate his business entities, instructing others to do the same and instructing them to use encrypted messaging applications to communicate with each other.
Contributed by: Naledi Ushe, USA Today; Associated Press
