
Jen Shah Admits She 'Could Not Breathe' While On Her Way To Serve 6.5 Year Prison Sentence For Telemarketing Fraud

March 9 2023, Published 2:08 p.m. ET
Jen Shah spoke out for the first time since beginning her life behind bars.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum — through a representative — took to her Instagram on Thursday, March 9, to share a text post of her journal entry recalling her last moments of freedom before surrendering to Bryan Federal Prison Camp in Texas for the next six-and-a-half years.

"Two miles from Bryan Federal Prison Camp (FPC), I could not breathe and my hands went numb," Shah recalled of the drive to jail on February 17, with her husband, Coach Sharrieff Shah. "I knew I was having an anxiety attack."
"I made Coach pull over because our reception was poor while driving and I was not able to FaceTime by oldest baby," she continued, referring to her child, Sharrieff Shah Jr. "We finally connected, I saw his face, and cried so hard until he reassured me that it would be okay."

"I didn't think I'd make it through today, " she recalled. "It felt surreal as we drove to Bryan FPC just minutes away from having to surrender. My worst fear and the unimaginable was about to happen — having to say goodbye to my sweet husband and previous baby Omar [Shah] (he'll always be my baby even though he's a senior in HS.)"
After recalling her gut wrenching final goodbyes to her spouse and her son, Shah recalled the shock of now becoming a prisoner. "I feel like my life is ending and I am truly scared, she penned in the note. "I feel like I don't belong here. I thought I could do this but I've decided I can't. I want to go home right now, but I know that's impossible. Please Allah, help me, please."
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The update, which was captioned, "1," with a hint of more passages in the future, comes less than a month after the former Bravo star kissed her freedom goodbye after she plead guilty to running a fraudulent telemarketing scheme for a decade. The scheme specifically targeted vulnerable and elderly people.
“It is the price I must pay for the bad decisions I made. People got hurt because of my decisions," the Bravo star wrote via Instagram in her final send-off. "While incarcerated, I will work to make amends and reconcile with the victims of my crime. In time, I pray that people will judge me for the way I responded to this sentence, rather than only for the decisions that led me to prison."