Back in July, former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah pled guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Jen is set to be sentenced next month, and it seems she’s very nervous about the possibility that the judge will throw the book at her.
Shah could be sent to prison for up to 30 years, and her future is entirely in the hands of her sentencing judge.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that she’s launched a full-blown PR campaign designed to convince the judge that she’s a beloved philanthropist who made a mistake, and not a career criminal who needs to be removed from society.
As we reported earlier this week, Jen wrote a lengthy letter to the judge in which she elaborately explained that she made some “bad business decisions” and has already learned her lesson.
She suggested that the judge sentence her to three years rather than 30.
Now, Jen’s husband of 28 years, Sharrieff Shah Sr., has submitted a letter of his own.
And he’s taking things a step further by basically declaring that his wife is innocent (despite the fact that she previously pled guilty).
“Jen has expressed her genuine remorse to me so many times for what she has done and the people hurt by her criminal actions,” the 51-year-old football coach wrote.
“Jennifer is truly a good woman, mother, wife, sister, and daughter who made bad decisions.”
Sharieff went on to write that a lenient sentence would “allow Jen to return to work sooner,” and that getting back to work would enable her to begin paying restitutions to her victims sooner.
Of course, that’s not a terribly compelling argument, as the Shahs are quite wealthy and could probably pay Jen’s victims back right now if they wanted to.
Plus, most judges probably don’t think of “reality TV star” as a profession that contributes a great deal to society.
Still, Jen has a lot of supporters on her side, and it’s unclear if her fame will help her or hurt her when it comes to sentencing.
In all likelihood, Jen’s sentence will probably be closer to three years than 30.
But there’s no doubt that she’s gonna do some time as a result of her crimes.
But that doesn’t mean her career is over.
After all, Jen isn’t the first Bravo Housewife to be sent to prison — that title belongs to Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice.
And these days Teresa is back with her family and back on television!
Hopefully, Jen is looking to her colleague as a model for how to move on from this mess.