“I approach each day with a desire to improve,” says the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star amid her 6.5-year prison sentence, “I own and understand my actions created victims.”
Jen Shah of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fame is getting candid about her time in prison after she was given a 6.5 year sentence for wire fraud.
The reality star spoke to The Messenger — via e-mail — for a new interview, in which she shared how she’s been holding up behind bars and what she’s been doing to stay busy.
“Daily introspection and self-examination are helping me learn many valuable lessons about how I ended up here,” said Shah, who is currently locked up at FPC Bryan Prison Camp. “I took shortcuts and broke the law. I own and understand my actions created victims. I hurt people and I must reiterate that I blame no one but myself.”
“I am committed to doing the work necessary to make my victims whole and prove worthy of a second chance,” added the reality star. “I’ve learned to focus on what I can and cannot control. I can control my attitude and how I approach each day with a desire to improve.”
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Shah’s prison consultant, Justin Paperny, also added that she is not “working, sleeping, or exercising her time away,” but is instead making meaningful use of her time.
“Jen has adopted a positive attitude in a difficult situation,” said Paperny. “Her focus on personal growth, building strong relationships and helping others is a testament to her resilience and strength of character.”
Shah said she’s also found “multiple ways to mentor other prisoners,” including “tutoring GED and ESL [English as a second language] students, mentoring women on their release plans, teaching multiple workout classes (abs, Pilates and HIIT training) and tutoring on reading, writing and vocabulary.”
She claimed she even helped create a resume building program to “help other women here put together their resumes.”
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The Bravo star, who reportedly does not have a cell but is living in a pod with other women, also shared that she “finds meaning” in helping her fellow prisoners, a group which includes Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes.
“I find meaning by helping other women here at Bryan by finding ways to make a positive impact in their lives to help them find purpose, which gives me purpose and a drive to do better,” she said.
Earlier this year, the reality star was given 78 months — or about 6.5 years — for her role in a nationwide telemarketing scheme. Shah and assistant Stuart Smith were accused of generating and selling “lead lists” of innocent people who could be targeted as part of a telemarketing scam for almost a decade. Many of the victims were elderly and working class.
As part of her sentencing, she was also ordered to forfeit $6,500,000, 30 luxury items, and 78 counterfeit luxury items, and to pay $6,645,251 in restitution.
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