"Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah arrived at a federal prison camp in Texas on Friday to begin her 6 1/2-year sentence for running a telemarketing scheme that targeted vulnerable, elderly victims, a prison spokesperson said.
The reality star surrendered at Federal Prison Camp Bryan, about 100 miles northwest of downtown Houston, after pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud.
The facility is a minimum-security prison that lacks cells, barbed wires or fencing, which experts call “the gold standard” for serving time.
Inmates’ daily lives at federal prison camps are structured around work and programs, according to the Bureau of Prisons. When she’s not working, Shah will be able to have visitors, watch TV, play sports, do arts and crafts and attend religious services.
"Jen Shah’s resolve to make her victims whole and to turn her life around is unyielding," the reality TV star's attorney, Priya Chaudhry, said in a statement.
"She is committed to serving her sentence with courage and purpose, fueled by her desire to make amends for the hurt she has caused and to help others in her new community."
A federal judge in New York City last month ordered Shah to serve 78 months to face "the consequences of the many years she spent targeting vulnerable, elderly victims," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said immediately after Shah's sentencing.
In her last public appearance, an emotional Shah apologized.
Shah claimed to be a humble daughter of immigrants, in stark contrast to the over-the-top, indulgent figure she appeared to be on the hit Bravo reality show "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City."
“I have to come to terms that I have gone against these core values and I am deeply sorry for what I have done,” Shah said at her sentencing. “I want to apologize to all the victims and families, and I take full responsibility for the harm I caused and will pay full restitution to all of the victims.”
Shah is the wife of longtime University of Utah assistant football coach Sharrieff Shah, who oversees cornerbacks and special teams. They have two sons.
Shah's arrest and eventual admission of guilt has been a major storyline of the Bravo show.
“The only thing I’m guilty of is being Shah-mazing,” Shah said in her self-introduction ahead of season two episodes. Prosecutors later pointed to that tagline in their sentencing request, alleging that Shah mocked the charges against her.
Episode one of "Salt Lake City's" season two opened with footage of cast members meeting in a parking lot and preparing for a trip, when Shah received a phone call, said she couldn't go and sped away.
Several minutes later, police and Homeland Security agents arrived in the parking lot, saying, "We're looking for Jen Shah."
