Photo: Chris Haston/Bravo via Getty Images
<p>With former <em>The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City </em>star <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/u-s-government-recommends-10-year-prison-sentence-for-rhoslc-star-jen-shah/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jen Shah</a> being sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, two victims of the reality star&#8217;s telemarketing ploy are breaking their silence.</p>
<p>During a Thursday morning broadcast of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k64OcsDFYzw" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Good Morning America</em></a>, ABC News correspondent Erielle Reshef spoke with some of the many victims of the scheme, which she says &#8220;ruined lives.&#8221;</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">The Victims Share Their Stories To Protect Others</h3>
<p>One such person—a 75-year-old named Tricia—wound up losing half of her life savings.</p>
<p>Specifically, she coughed up $47,000 &#8220;on the false promise that Shah&#8217;s company would help her start an online business.&#8221; She also noted that Shah&#8217;s scheme also sounded &#8220;very legitimate&#8221; and pointed out, &#8220;I&#8217;m not a stupid person.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m telling the world: I was stupid enough to get caught in a scam. And I&#8217;m not a stupid person, but I did make a big mistake.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Additionally, Tricia shared that, while she&#8217;d rather keep the situation to herself, she doesn&#8217;t want others &#8220;to have to go through that shame that [she] went through.&#8221;</p>
<p>Another victim named Molly McLaughlin, 44, shared her story, as well.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I probably spent about $44,000 on six credit cards. All of [which] went into bankruptcy, because of course I couldn&#8217;t afford to pay that.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">The Scheme Left Victims In Financial Ruin: &#8216;I Don&#8217;t Have Money To Take Care Of Myself&#8217;</h3>
<p>Ultimately—as the victims were largely made up of vulnerable populations, like the elderly—Jen Shah&#8217;s scheme did quite a bit of serious damage.</p>
<p>For Tricia, she says that she spiraled into a &#8220;deep depression.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I am just recovering from being in a deep depression&#8230;You get to a point where there is no way out.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>The 75-year-old added, &#8220;I don&#8217;t have the money to take care of myself [anymore].&#8221;</p>
<p>You can watch the <em>GMA </em>segment below.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">Jen Shah Will Begin Serving Federal Prison Sentence Next Month</h3>
<p>As <em><a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/rhoslc-star-jen-shah-sentenced-to-6-5-years-in-federal-prison/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Shade Room</a> </em>previously reported, Jen Shah received a 78-month sentence on Jan. 6, 2023. This sentence came down nearly six months after Jen Shah pleaded guilty after continually proclaiming her innocence on <em>RHOSLC</em>.</p>
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<p>She is set to report to federal prison on Feb. 17. Additionally, Jen was ordered to pay $6M in restitution, which she vowed to do during her sentencing.</p>
<p>What do you think of the overall situation, and do you think <em>The Real Housewives of </em><i>Salt Lake City </i>can survive without Jen Shah?</p>
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