Jen Shah from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City was finally sentenced to 78 months in prison for wire fraud on January 6, but there are plenty of reasons why the disgraced housewife should've been given a harsher verdict. Jen, who was arrested by federal authorities in 2021 while RHOSLC season 2 was in production, was a controversial housewife long before her criminal activities were uncovered. With an affinity for conflict and a bad habit of public tantrums, Jen fought with several co-stars throughout the first two seasons of RHOSLC, such as Mary Cosby and Heather Gay.

Although Jen returned to the show shortly after her arrest and passionately proclaimed her innocence, RHOSLC's Jen pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July 2022 to avoid a trial and hopefully gain a reduced sentence. Jen, who was originally supposed to be sentenced in November 2022, before the date was pushed back twice to January 6, requested a sentence of just three years, while the United States government asked Judge Sidney Stein to give Jen 10 years behind bars. Despite the support of her husband Sharrieff "Coach" Shah and defense attorney Priya Chaudry, Judge Stein ultimately sentenced Jen to 78 months, or 6.5 years, in prison for her crime; Judge Stein also ordered the RHOSLC star to pay restitution to her victims. While Jen will spend the next few years locked away, she's extremely lucky she didn't receive a longer sentence than she should've.

Related: Why RHOSLC Won't Be Interesting Without Jen Shah

Jen Shah Ran Her Wire Fraud Scam For Nine Years

Although Jen joined RHOSLC in 2020, her decision to enter the spotlight didn't mean she was going to cease her criminal activities. From 2012 up until her arrest in March 2021, Jen and several co-conspirators, such as her friend, assistant, and RHOSLC companion Stuart Smith, intentionally targeted elderly people through a telemarketing scam that offered non-existent products. Over their nine years in business, Jen and the other individuals involved defrauded victims out of millions of dollars, which were then used to fuel their lavish lifestyles. While a sentence of 6.5 years is still longer than Jen's wish of three, it would've been fair for Jen to receive at least nine years behind bars, the same length of time the scam was in operation.

Jen Shah's Co-Conspirators Received Similar Sentences

Despite Jen, whose counterfeit bags were forfeited, being named the ringleader of the group since her guilty plea last summer, Jen's co-conspirators were given equal, or slightly less, prison sentences. Although Stuart, who was the first to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter punishment, will be the last defendant to go to court, Reality Blurb reported on January 5 that Carl Morris and Christopher Wilson were also sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, while Ryan Mult was sentenced to five years. Several others still have to be sentenced, but if Jen was truly in charge of the operation like the United States government claimed, she should've been sent to prison for more time than her subordinates.

Jen Shah Received A Shorter Sentence Than The Chrisley's

While Teresa and Joe Giudice's stints in prison won't be forgotten by fans of The Real Housewives of New Jersey anytime soon, Jen isn't the only reality star who is set to surrender to authorities in 2023. Shortly before Jen pled guilty, Todd and Julie Chrisley from Chrisley Knows Best were found guilty of federal bank fraud and tax evasion, which, like Jen, were committed to fund their affluent lifestyle. In November, Julie was sentenced to seven years in prison, while her husband, Todd, was sentenced to 12 years. While it's hard to factually determine whether Jen or the Chrisley's committed worse crimes, it's interesting that despite how many elderly victims were involved in Jen's scam and how much money they lost, Jen received a lighter sentence than both of them.

Jen Shah Only Showed Remorse When Her Guilt Became Clear

While several factors were taken into account by Judge Stein for Jen's sentence, the biggest indication that Jen should've received more than 6.5 years is that she showed zero remorse or concern for her actions, until Jen faced up to 40 years in prison. Not only did Jen resume her day-to-day activities and continued to fight with housewives like Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow, but her RHOSLC season 2 tagline even ironically declared, "The only thing I'm guilty of is being Shah-mazing!" Although Jen and her attorney argued that being on Bravo didn't help her case, Jen not only chose to return for RHOSLC season 3 and sell "Free Jen" merchandise amid her legal battle but also publicly lashed out after being uninvited to BravoCon 2022 and the RHOSLC season 3 reunion. Although Jen has no chance of keeping her housewife status for RHOSLC season 4 after being sentenced on January 6, she could've avoided such a big media circus if she didn't double-down on her proposed innocence for a year while on national television.

More: Why Angie Katsanevas Will Be Full-Time For RHOSLC Season 4

Source: Reality Blurb