Former ‘Real Housewives’ star moved from prison to community program for remainder of her sentence

jennifer ShahA former star on “The real housewives Of salt Lake City“After serving less than half his sentence for defrauding thousands of people, he has been transferred from federal prison to a community prison program.

A Bureau of Prisons The spokesman confirmed that Shah was transferred from the federal prison camp in Bryan on Wednesday morning. texas For the program overseen by the Phoenix Residential Reentry Management Office. The transfer means Shah is either being kept under house arrest or in a halfway house. Its estimated release date is August 30, 2026.

“For privacy, security and safety reasons, we do not discuss conditions of confinement for any individual, including reasons for transfer or release plans, nor do we specify an individual’s specific location in community confinement,” BOP spokesperson Emery Nelson wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Shah, 52, was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison in 2023 for defrauding people in a telemarketing scam that lasted nearly a decade. At the time, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Sobelman said she was the most guilty of more than 30 defendants charged with participating in a nationwide fraud that often targeted the vulnerable, elderly or electronically unsophisticated. The fraud involved fake services that were promoted as enabling people to earn substantial amounts of money through online businesses.

Shah pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in July 2022, and during his sentencing he apologized to the “innocent people” he said he had hurt and pledged to pay $6.5 million in restitution and forfeiture after his release from prison.

Prosecutors said he used the profits from the fraud to live a life of luxury, including living in a nearly 10,000-square-foot mansion in Utah known as the “Shah Ski Chateau”, an apartment in Midtown Manhattan and leasing a Porsche Panamera. The government said she appeared to mock the charges against her by claiming that “the only thing I’m guilty of is being Shah-obsessed” and then profited from it by marketing “Justice for Jane” merchandise after her arrest.

At sentencing, Shah apologized and said the proceeds from the merchandise would go toward the victims.

Shah later said, “I alone am responsible for my terrible decisions. It was all my fault and all my wrongdoings.” I wish I would have stood outside myself and seen the damage I was causing and changed course. I am deeply and deeply sorry.