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Giudice Atty James Leonard on Jen Shah’s Criminal Case
Defense attorney James J. Leonard Jr. is weighing in on Jen Shah’s legal issues. The attorney first gained the national spotlight when for defending Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Joe and Teresa Giudice. As previously reported, RHOSLC star Jen Shah and her first assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested on Tuesday for (attempting to commit) wire fraud and money laundering. The famed attorney spoke to “Bravo housewife” impressionist extraordinaire Amy Phillips on her Reality Checked radio show on SIRIUS (XM).
Leonard started off by describing the terror that defendants feel the first time they see their names on court documents reading The United States of America vs. Your Name Here, and how real it suddenly becomes. No arguments here! He spoke on the alleged telemarketing scheme, primarily targeting the elderly dating all the way back to 2012, and emphasized that the case is being prosecuted in New York, but spans all the way to Utah, hence it being a “Federal” case.
Throughout the interview, Leonard re-emphasized “the presumption of innocence” (fair enough), but at times, this listener (and I think Amy as well) felt like he was portraying Shah as a victim (a true defense attorney through and through). Leonard went on to point out the seriousness of the crimes, and if convicted, Shah is probably looking at a 2-5 year prison sentence, with time spent in a a”soft prison”, similar to the those where Teresa Giudice, Martha Stewart, and Abby Lee Miller spent time.
At this point, Shah has been arrested, and next step will be reading the arraignment (formally reading the charges). Leonard predicts that Shah will be released on bond. UPDATE: Due to Shah’s alleged “zoom” issues, today’s arraignment has been postponed until Friday. The attorneys on both sides are undoubtedly already having conversations which will most likely include offering Shah a plea deal, urging her to plead guilty to some charges; however, if she refuses, then there will be an indictment. Leonard explained that “Information” is the keyword to look for; that if she pleads guilty to an Information charge, she could get a lot less time, but if she doesn’t, she is in for a LONG difficult road. He adds that they probably already have a rock solid case/evidence against her, or they would not have arrested her. In all likelihood, her husband (and former attorney) Sharriff Shah, might have already been investigated, and here’s the kicker; the Feds don’t have to reveal what they found. Leonard was basically suggesting that the Feds play dirty, and make pleading NOT guilty very difficult.
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