'I felt like a fugitive': 'RHOSLC' star Jen Shah's telemarketing scam victims open up in letter to judge
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: Jen Shah's fraud victims have submitted a slew of tragic impact statements detailing the financial, emotional, and bodily pain they experienced as a result of her purported telemarketing operation. Several victims have come forward with terrible accounts of suicide ideation, health issues, and more, as prosecutors aim to see 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' cast member serve ten years in prison for the fraud offenses she pled guilty to in July.
Jen Shah of 'RHOSLC' will be sentenced on Friday, January 6, 2023, for her role in a telemarketing scheme in July. The reality TV personality admitted to one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud. With only a few days until Jen Shah's sentence, the public recently obtained a copy of the court records. They included a letter from the victims detailing the repercussions of the star's telemarketing scam campaign.
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"Victim comments in Jen Shah's case have been extraordinarily emotional. Many victims, mostly older people, claim to have lost life savings and had serious health issues as a result of financial difficulties and other causes. Attorney Ronald Richards shared a link to the victim impact statements against Jen. "Here are the victim impact statements for Jen Shah," he said in an addendum to a prior post. "They are heartbreaking. This is real, not reality TV. She, like other prior [housewives], has a hard time taking any responsibility [and] only settles when they can’t win legally or their income is effected."
A recent widow came forward in one impact statement, revealing that they were scammed about "half a year into [their] grief period," and recalling feelings of being "exhausted" and "overwhelmed" with paperwork pertaining to the bureaucracies of widowhood when they were got in touch about an opportunity they thought would be an "investment into [their] future." Although the bereaved victim planned to start a new page following their loss, the ostensible "investment" harmed them.
"I was snowballed and didn’t even know it," they said, noting that they'd spent a lot of money on a corporation that hadn't provided them with the tools they needed to generate the money they'd been promised.
"I thought my depression was going to make me suicidal. [I] was so fearful, I was afraid of leaving the house or using my computer and phones for weeks on end," they explained.
After stating what had happened to their boys, the individual was instructed to discontinue all connections with the firm and request a refund. They were also instructed to halt further transactions and inform the police. The authorities, on the other hand, "didn’t do much" except remove data that had been disseminated online. "I felt like a fugitive and phobic about everybody, almost paranoid about who is after me … I couldn’t sleep at nights for fear somebody might come and roust me out of my house and sue me, then I would be left in poverty," they explained. "The mental anguish is still with me today."
Another person, described as a 75-year-old retiree who lost their spouse in a swimming accident in Vietnam just after the birth of their second kid, was planning to start a business when they were approached by a corporation that "promises of teaching and leading me to success with their coaching." But when things didn't line up and she started asking questions, she realized she'd been "conned." "I wasted about $40,000 trying to do good for my family," she stated in her statement, adding that "restitution and time served should put her into the same or similar hardship as her victims."
"It was her choice to commit the crime for fame, drinks, fun, and [luxury]," she explained.
Another client expressed "financial stress" as well as "emotional and physical stress," saying they were delighted to begin a new job after receiving a call from "one of [Jen's] partners," but ended up accumulating over $35,000 in credit card bills in just three months. "This was the biggest mistake I had ever made in my adult life because from that point on, my life began to spiral out-of-control," the person claimed. After months of "no profit," the individual discovered she had been "scammed."
"But, it was too late because [Jen] and her partners already had my money," stated the former special education teacher. "Sleeping at night became increasingly difficult because I constantly worked about my financial situation. I only had a small pension. It was not enough to pay my mortgage, utilities, household expenses, and the monthly credit card payments."
As she continued to be approached by the firm and urged to spend thousands more, the woman's stress led to not one, but two heart attacks.
Another victim lost more than $100,000 and was forced to refinance their home. "I can’t begin to tell you the emotional, mental, physical, and financial anguish this has put on me, as well as my family. I almost lost everything that I worked for, as well as my life and almost cost me my marriage as well as ruining my kids’ lives for eternity," the individual said in their statement.
According to the anonymous person, they received threatening phone calls claiming that the FBI was hunting for them and that they would be jailed soon, causing terrible worry, migraines, and "no sleep for months." In fact, the threats were so serious, combined with their rising debt, that they were afraid to notify their own relatives. "I was not only sick because of the threats, but now I had a severe debt that had to be looked after," she explained, adding that she could no longer vacation with their children or husband and had worked more shifts at work to compensate.
"[But it] wasn’t near enough," she added. "I thought about ending my own life, but that was also not a solution as the financial burden would now be their financial burden … I will never be able to recover financially for many years to come, that’s if I ever, really, fully recover."
As a result of her deceptions, the US government recommended that Jen Shah be imprisoned for ten years on December 23, 2022. According to the authorities, it is a "sufficient" penalty for her actions.
Season three of 'The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.