Jen Shah is back in Utah after she was released from prison years earlier than expected.
For the first time since she emerged from behind bars, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum, 52, was spotted sharing an emotional moment with husband Sharrieff Shah and their two sons.
In a video obtained by ABC’s Nightline, Jen was seen smiling as she emerged from the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, on Wednesday, December 10. She hugged her sons tightly before the family drove off.
TMZ later published photos of Jen as she touched down at Salt Lake City International Airport on Wednesday. Jen flew commercial and was greeted by a supportive crowd. (She reportedly stayed quiet when asked about interacting with fellow inmates Ghislaine Maxwell and Elizabeth Holmes during their time in prison.)
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Jen was released from FPC Bryan on Wednesday morning. She served less than three years of her six-and-a-half-year sentence.
Jen was first arrested in March 2021 alongside then-assistant Stuart Smith for their role in a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that involved multiple victims over the age of 55. She initially denied the allegations against her, pleading not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
More than one year later, Jen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July 2022. As part of her plea deal, the second charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering was dropped.
“In 2012 to March 2021 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere I agreed with others to commit wire fraud,” she said in a prepared statement to the judge at the time. “I knew this was wrong. I knew many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.”
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In January 2023, Us Weekly confirmed Jen was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. The following month, she reported to the Federal Prison Camp in Texas.
During her nearly three-year stint behind bars, Jen’s sentence was reduced multiple times. News broke in November that she would be released in the coming weeks.
“Everyone’s very grateful for the BOP’s decision, especially because it means Jen will be able to reunite with her family for the holidays,” Jen’s manager, Chris Giovanni, told People in a November statement. “It’s a gift she doesn’t take for granted.”
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Ahead of her release, Jen was “in a really positive, hopeful place mentally,” Giovanni said.
“She’s done a lot of reflecting and real growth during her time away and is genuinely not the same woman as she was before. Her focus is on her family and building a healthier, more grounded life,” Giovanni added. “She understands the seriousness of the mistakes she made and is excited to put this chapter behind her so that she can show everyone the woman she’s worked hard to become.”
While some fans speculated that Jen could return to RHOSLC after her prison stint, Andy Cohen insisted, “She’s not coming back.”
“I don’t know that I can see Bravo working with her again,” Cohen, 57, noted on his SiriusXM radio show. “Can we put a period at the end of the sentence?”
