Teresa Giudice’s family attorney, James Leonard Jr. Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has some advice after being sentenced to 78 months in prison for a telemarketing scheme that targeted the elderly.
Shah was sentenced Friday to 6.5 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
“I have to believe there is another side to Ms. Shah that is very different from the person she is on television and the person who was convicted of a crime and is now going to prison,” Leonard said following the reality TV star’s sentencing.
He continued: “If I could give Ms. Shah any advice, it would be to practice humility and spend the rest of her life working to help others avoid the pitfalls that led to her downfall.”
JEN KING was sentenced to 78 months in prison for her role in the NATIONAL TELEMARKETING fraud
Leonard, who is not part of Shah’s legal team, has worked on many high-profile cases over the years and represented several. reality TV starsIncluding Giudice of The Real Housewives of New Jersey fame. In 2016, Giudice and her then-husband Joe Giudice also pleaded guilty to fraud and served time.
Jen Shah was sentenced to 78 months in prison on Friday in a New York court.
(Getty Images)
Shah was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein in New York. After a sentencing hearing that lasted about 90 minutes, Judge Stein ruled that he must also forfeit $6.5 million and must pay more than $6.6 million in restitution.
The king ordered to report to the prison by February 17.
Judge Stein noted that he sentenced him not only to probation (135-168 months), but also to a lower sentence (110 months) than the government recommended.
However, he said he believed the sentence reflected the “seriousness of the crime” and was sufficient punishment to prevent it from happening again and to deter others from committing the same type of crime.
The judge said Shah appeared to be remorseful, but also said he did not know if he “truly appreciates the harm he has caused to the victims”.
The king ordered to report to the prison by February 17.
(AP Photos)
Teresa Giudice’s family attorney, James J. Leonard, seen here with Giudice, advised Shah after the sentencing.
(Paul Zimmerman/WireImage)
Going forward, Leonard Shah’s “biggest challenge” will be “being separated from his family and losing his freedom,” but as far as pressing issues in prison are concerned, he’ll be fine as long as he reminds himself to remain humble. “
“If he acts like he’s portrayed on TV, I don’t think it’s going to happen, things could be a little more difficult,” he warned.
In court, Shah, at times in tears, spoke before the judge, particularly apologizing to his family, who were in attendance. She acknowledged the “shame, pain and tears” of her husband and sons.
“I failed and I let you down,” she said of her husband, University of Utah assistant football coach Sharrieff Shah, and their two sons, Sharrieff Jr. and Omar.
Jennifer Shah’s husband Sharrieff Shah, left, leaves a federal court in New York on Friday.
(AP Photos)
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Leonard said that while it was a “tough day” for Shah and his family, he insisted that he could have been sentenced more severely.
“Obviously, it’s a difficult day for Ms. Shah and her family, but given that she faces up to 14 years in prison, the government is aggressively seeking a minimum of 10 years in prison, while the influential figure could face 6.5 years in prison. It means that his legal team did a great job of humanizing him to the judge and that he was convincing in his arguments,” he said.
“The sentence means Ms. Shah will be released from prison in just under five years,” Leonard added.
Shah appeared to have a serious demeanor and appeared tense ahead of the sentencing on Friday.
(AP, file)
On Friday, Shah maintained a serious demeanor and appeared tense before the sentencing. She looked at her husband who was sitting in the gallery shortly before the sentencing.
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The Justice Department initially asked for ten years behind bars “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” A star. Her legal team had asked for a three-year prison sentence and had previously called Shah “a wonderful mother and a good woman who has been punished a lot for her past sins”.
He was initially sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Shah initially pleaded guilty in 2021. A year later, he pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal in which the money laundering charge was dropped.
(Bravo)
Shah initially pleaded not guilty in 2021. A year later, he entered the court. plead guilty as part of an agreement in which the money laundering charge was dropped. He agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and pay up to $9.5 million in restitution.
The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Dorado Task Force in New York with assistance from HSI Salt Lake.
Tracy Wright and Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.