Former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has spoken publicly for the first time since her release from prison.
Videos by Suggest
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Shah said plainly, “I was wrong.” The reality star has taken responsibility for her actions in the telemarketing operation that targeted thousands of victims, many of them elderly. Prosecutors previously described the scheme as one that sold deceptive business services and repeatedly charged victims for little or no value.
Shah, 52, pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after initially maintaining her innocence. She admitted that she ignored warning signs while working within the business, ultimately contributing to a system that defrauded vulnerable individuals.
“I should have been more diligent,” she said, adding that she failed to fully recognize the extent of the harm until she reviewed evidence presented by prosecutors.
The reality television personality served nearly three years of a 6-and-a-half-year sentence at a federal prison camp in Texas before her early release in December 2025. She is now completing the remainder of her sentence under home confinement.
Jen Shah Says She Didn’t Know What Was Going On The Whole Time
In the interview, Shah also addressed the personal struggles she faced during the period leading up to her arrest, including grief, depression, and difficulties in her marriage. She emphasized, however, that those challenges do not excuse her criminal conduct.
“It’s a long and a very complex journey that brought me to this point,” she explained. “And without re-litigating it, I became involved in the case because I made horrible business decisions and I disregarded huge red flags. I allowed the lines to be blurred between personal friendships and ethical business practices. And in essence, I trusted the wrong people at a very vulnerable time in my life.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing for the majority of the time,” she continued. “I was working under people who were running these companies.”
Shah directed a message to the victims of the scheme, offering a direct apology and committing to restitution payments totaling more than $6.6 million.
Now I wonder if she’ll break the silence of Heather Gay’s black eye…