Former Real Housewives Star Jen Shah Reflects on Emotional Letters from Sons Detailing Impact of Her Crimes

Jen Shah, the star who featured on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City show, had spent two years and nine months in prison. After she was released in December last year, she spoke about the impact her crimes had on her children.

Jen Shah, who is now 52 years old, was arrested in March 2021 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for her role in year year-long telemarketing scheme that the government said defrauded innocent people across the country. Shah was sentenced and had served two years and nine months in a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, before she was released on December 10th, last year.

Shah, who is currently serving the rest of her sentence in home confinement, in a series of interviews as reported by People, has revealed that she asked her husband, Sharrieff “Coach” Shah, who is currently 55 years old, and her two sons, Sharrieff Jr., 32 years old, and Omar, 21 years old, to send her victim impact letters while she was in prison.

“I needed to know how I hurt them,” Shah explained. “I needed them to be honest with me and tell me everything. I needed to hear that raw feedback because that is the only way you grow and heal. You can't get better if you don't know what you did,” Shah added.

Shah also mentioned that her sons did not want to write the letters as they told their dad, Shah’s husband, that they did not want to hurt their mother’s feelings. Shah also mentioned that the reluctance of her sons made her question whether it was the right thing to do. Shah said, “If this is going to dredge more pain for them?”

However, after a conversation about the situation with Shah’s therapist in prison, she concluded that the letter-writing exercise was, in fact, more effective for her kids. “And Coach told the boys you are doing this for mommy,” she added.

Both Sha’s sons had sent the letters, and they were read aloud to Shah during the group session in the prison. Shah told People that hearing their candid words was “one of the biggest turning points” in her healing process. “And there were lots of tears because it was hard. But I needed to hear it,” she insisted.

“I think that is one of the reasons we have grown closer as a family, because we had those difficult conversations, and I have faced those things head-on. I knew that there was hurt and pain, but you kind of wanted to be like, “let's sweep it under the rug.” But I chose to tear the scab off and that wound and pour salt in it, if you will,” Shah said during her interview with People.

Shah said she is still apologizing to her family for what they had to go through. “As a mother and a wife, I do apologize still,” she says. “My husband had to take care of everything that I was supposed to take care of.”

Shah also mentions how she regenerated the things she had missed while she was away. While talking about her family’s support, Shah mentioned there are no words to explain how “grateful” and “blessed” she feels to have them by her side.

“Sometimes, though what we think is the worst thing ever, God makes something beautiful out of it,” Shah said to people during her interview.