- Jen Shah was sentenced for a telemarketing fraud scheme in Manhattan federal court on Friday.
- She apologized to her son, saying officers were heavily armed during her arrest in March 2021.
Jen Shah, one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," apologized to her youngest son in court on Friday, just before being sentenced to 6 and 1/2 years in prison for taking part in a telemarketing fraud scheme.
The 49-year-old reality star was arrested in March 2021 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Shah took a plea deal in July, admitting to the first charge. Her sentencing was Friday in Manhattan federal court, and her husband and two sons attended in support.
During the sentencing, Shah gave a statement where she apologized to her victims, her friends, and her family.
She also apologized to her youngest son Omar, a senior in high school, for the "trauma" he experienced after Shah said he was "woken up at gunpoint, handcuffed, and taken out of the house" on the day of her arrest.
Omar sat steel-faced as he heard the public apology from his mother.
It wasn't the first time that Shah has spoken about how she says her son was treated on the day of her arrest.
During episode 13 of season two of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," Shah was filmed telling castmate Heather Gay about federal agents "pulled AR-15s out" on her son.
"We tell the boys, 'You're Black in a predominantly white community. Like, don't move, don't say anything, be polite," Shah told Gay. "And it makes me sick, because what if they would have thought that, like, Omar moved the wrong way or did something and they could have shot him or whatever?"
Insider reached out to Homeland Security Investigations, the Salt Lake City branch of the FBI, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, and the Summit County Sheriff's Office for comment on Friday, but did not immediately receive a response from any of the agencies. A spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Police said they were not involved in Shah's arrest. A representative for Shah did not return Insider's request for comment.
Shah was sentenced on Friday in connection to a telemarketing fraud scheme that prosecutors said she took part in for nearly a decade. Shah was described as being one of the leaders of the scheme, providing leads on victims for telemarketers to target, most of whom were over the age of 55.
She is set to turn herself in to start her sentence on February 17.