“The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah is getting processed for intake at the federal prison where she just arrived to serve her sentence for a telemarketing scandal.
via: People
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, 49, entered FPC Bryan Prison in Bryan, Texas, on Friday, PEOPLE can confirm. This is the same minimum-security facility former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is expected to complete her 11-year stint. However, Shah will serve a 78-month sentence.
TMZ was the first to report the news.
Ahead of Shah entering prison, her attorney Priya Chaudhry issued a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, sharing, “Jen Shah’s resolve to make her victims whole and to turn her life around is unyielding.”
“She is committed to serving her sentence with courage and purpose, fueled by her desire to make amends for the hurt she has caused and to help others in her new community,” the statement read. “No obstacle will deter Jen from making the most of her time in prison and she’s determined to make restitution to those whose lives she has impacted.”
The statement continued: “Her path ahead will be filled with challenges, but with the unwavering love and support of her family and friends, Jen is prepared to face these challenges head-on and emerge from this experience a better person who makes a positive impact on others.”
On Jan. 6, Shah and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a telemarketing scheme and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Shah was arrested two years earlier, in March 2021, and pleaded not guilty in April 2021. Her assistant pled guilty in November 2021, but Shah maintained her innocence until a court hearing in July 2022 when she reversed her plea.
“Ms. Shah is a good woman who crossed a line,” her attorney told PEOPLE at the time. “She accepts full responsibility for her actions and deeply apologizes to all who have been harmed. Ms. Shah is also sorry for disappointing her husband, children, family, friends, and supporters. Jen pled guilty because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family.”
Last month, a New York judge sentenced her to 6.5 years in prison. She also received five years of supervision after her sentence “to make sure you don’t end up committing another crime,” Judge Stein told Shah.
Shah apologized for her actions upon her sentencing. “I am sorry. My actions have hurt innocent people,” she previously said, per Inner City Press’s Matthew Russell Lee. “I want to apologize by saying, I am doing all I can to earn the funds to pay restitution.”
