Jen Shah Judge Is Not Playing

 

This just in.  A co-defendant in Jen Shah's telemarketing scheme case was denied a reduced sentence by a judge on Tuesday. Shah, who stars in the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, was arrested in 2021 on federal fraud charges stemming from allegations she conspired to commit wire fraud and laundered money in connection to a purported telemarketing scam that targeted the elderly, federal prosecutors said.  The Bravo personality faces multiple counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

 

Shah's alleged involvement dates back to 2012, and while the reality star and her assistant Stuart Smith were hit with an indictment last spring, the case goes back to 2019 and involves many other co-defendants: Anthony Cheedie, Chad Allen, Shane Hanna, Cameron Brewster, Kevin Handren, Joseph Ciaccio, Joseph Minetto, Joseph Depaola, Derek Larkin, Joseph Chirico and Mattie Cirilo. If that doesn't sound like the cast right out of a Martin Scorcese mob movie, I don't know what does!  Jen Shah revealed during the third and final installment of the RHOSLC Season 2 reunion why she didn’t take a plea deal in her ongoing fraud trial.

 

In a new filing dated Tuesday, April 19, a judge denied Larkin a reduced sentence. He was initially sentenced to 72 months plus five years of supervised release. Larkin had cited medical concerns as the "primary basis" for his motion.  "Accordingly, defendant's motion is denied due to the lack of extraordinary and compelling circumstances as well as the fact that the section 3553(a) factors do not support a reduction in his sentence," Judge Sidney H. Stein ruled.  Ouch, and he was one a bit player!

 

The filing also provides some background information about Larkin's sentence. The guideline range for Larkin's conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud was 151 to 188 months, which reflected his past criminal history. "At sentencing, the Court varied downward from the guidelines range, taking into account Larkin's role as a salesperson and not a manager in the conspiracy, his remorse and his young family, among other personal circumstances," the document states.

 

Meanwhile, Shah, whose trial got pushed to July 2022, revealed during the  season 2 reunion why she didn’t take a plea deal.  "I’m fighting this. I am innocent," she told pimp daddy executive producer, Andy Cohen, and her castmates after Cohen pointed out the "success rate" of the New York State Attorney.  "And I will fight for every person out there that can’t fight for themselves because they don’t have the resources or the means, so they don’t fight.". Shah continued, "I will fight because No. 1, I’m innocent and No. 2, I’m going to fucking represent every other person out there that can’t fight and hasn’t been able to.".  Yeah Jen we know; everyone is racist.

 

Shah defended her innocence in March. PARA The 48-year-old faces multiple counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years, while the money laundering charge carries a maximum of 20. The New York Police Department said in a statement in March 2021 at the time of Shah’s arrest that the number of victims Shah and her "first assistant" Smith had allegedly duped stood in the "hundreds" and noted that the alleged fraud had gone on for nearly a decade, starting in 2012. Smith has since pleaded guilty for his involvement in the alleged nationwide fraud scheme. 

 

I see it like this.  If the Feds sent Teresa Giudice's ass to "camp" for a year (for far less), I really don't know now this trick is going to avoid doing jail time.  But they have been filming season 3 since February, so at least for the sake of the show, we will get another drama packed season out of Jen before she fades away into relative obscurity.   Let's face it; with Crazy Mary gone, the show can't afford to lose its only other certifiable nut job.