'Real Housewives' star Jen Shah broke down in tears and vowed to pay back her victims before she was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for fraud scheme

• "Real Housewives" star Jen Shah was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison on Friday.
• Shah pleaded guilty in July to taking part in a telemarketing scheme targeting older individuals.

A federal judge sentenced Jen Shah, one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," to 6.5 years in prison in connection to a fraud scheme on Friday.

"My actions have hurt innocent people," Shah said in court ahead of her sentencing. "I want to apologize by saying, I am doing all I can to earn the funds to pay restitution."

"I am profoundly and deeply sorry," she added to her family, through tears.

Shah, wearing a camel-colored pantsuit, arrived in the courtroom on Friday alongside her husband, two sons, and more than a dozen other friends and family members who all sat in the front rows.

While speaking to the judge, Shah noted that her role on "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" had nothing to do with her real life.

"Reality TV has nothing to do with reality," she said, adding that even her "Real Housewives" tagline, "The only thing I'm guilty of is being SHAH-mazing," was not written by her.

Shah was arrested in March 2021 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors accused Shah of participating in a nearly decade-long telemarketing fraud scheme targeting "hundreds" of victims, largely over the age of 55. They said Shah generated "lead lists" of victims for other individuals in the scheme to target.

While Shah initially pleaded not guilty to the two charges, in July she took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to the wire fraud charge. The second charge was dropped by prosecutors on Friday.

Shah's attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told the court on Friday that it was after hearing the statements of some of her victims in July that Shah finally realized the consequences of her actions, and that's why she decided to change her plea.

Hearing those victims' stories yanked Shah out of the "echo chamber of her own denial," Chaudhry said.

"There was no more lying to herself or anyone else," Chaudhry added.

As part of her agreement with prosecutors, Shah agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and pay restitution up to $9.5 million.

At her sentencing on Friday, Shah said her actions have gone against her "core values," and that she wants to raise money to pay back her victims when she is out of prison.

"It was all my fault and all my doing," she said at the sentencing.

Prosecutors had suggested an 11-14 year prison sentence in the agreement, though the final sentence is always in the hands of the judge. The charge Shah pleaded guilty to has a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

In pre-sentencing filings, the US Probation department suggested an eight-year sentence, while Shah's lawyers said that a three-year sentence would be more appropriate. They argued she wasn't the "kingpin" of the scheme, and she didn't have direct contact with any of the victims.

Judge Sidney Stein indicated at the beginning of the hearing that his final sentence would land somewhere between the two. At times he lauded Shah, registering the number of friends and family who turned out to support her, saying it shows that they "clearly value" her. He also noted how Shah's husband has attended many of her hearings, and how she's raised two "successful" sons, one a medical student, the other who's won a football scholarship.

But he said it was clear she was not only a participant in the telemarketing scheme, but a leader who continued to target her victims even after she learned investigators were onto the scheme and conspirators were arrested.

Stein said one factor that impacted his decision to give her a lesser sentence than suggested by the government is that he believes she won't commit a crime again.

"If for no other reason than that she's so well-known now," he said.

Shah's attorney, Chaudhry, asked the judge on Friday that he request Shah serve her sentence at the federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, because of its Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) and its relative proximity to her family.

The judge said he never recommends specific facilities, but would request that Shah serve her sentence at a prison in Texas. She is set to start her sentence on February 17.

Shah had nothing to say as she left the courthouse on Friday and got into a waiting black SUV with her family.

Just four days before her sentencing, Shah posted pictures to Instagram Stories showing her supporting husband Sharrieff Shah at the Rose Bowl, according to E! News. Sharrieff is a special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach for the University of Utah's football team, which lost to Penn State in the bowl game.

Even after her arrest, Shah continued to take part in season three of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," which premiered in September. She skipped the reunion episode, writing on Instagram that it was because she refused to talk about her legal case.