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‘Bad Girls Club’ Alum Shannade Clermont Sentenced To 1 Year In Prison For Stealing From Dead Man
One half of the Clermont twins is going to prison after allegedly meeting a man for a “prostitution date” and then stealing his debit card info when he overdosed.
Former reality TV star Shannade Clermont has been sentenced to one year in prison for stealing the identity of a man who died after a “prostitution date” with her in 2017.
Clermont rose to social media fame following an appearance with her twin sister on season 14 of Oxygen's “Bad Girls Club,” going on to model for Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and appearing in a number of music videos. Clermont’s picture perfect life came crashing down, however, when prosecutors claimed last year that she stole debit card information from James Alesi after he passed out at his home, and went on to spend more than $200,000 — money that wasn’t legally hers to spend — on plane tickets, expensive clothing, and other lavish purchases.
Clermont, 25, appeared in Manhattan federal court with her twin sister, Shannon, by her side, where she received her sentence, the Associated Press reports.
After taking responsibility for her “shameful actions,” she told the judge, “Words can’t explain the sorrow I have in my heart,” according to the outlet.
Alesi, a real estate broker, died of an accidental overdose from taking cocaine laced with fentanyl, his family reportedly said. He was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Feb. 1, 2017, one day after prosecutors believe Clermont met with him for what they described as a “prostitution date” in a news release issued last year. While Clermont was at Alesi’s home, she stole information from two of his debit cards and later used Alesi’s identity to wire money to herself, prosecutors claimed.
Alesi’s family discovered what had happened while handling the sale of his estate two months after his death, the New York Daily News reports.
“My brother died and she went shopping,” the victim’s sister, whose identity has not been shared, reportedly said during sentencing.
Following her arrest in July, Clermont entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud in November.
The judge was not concerned during the hearing with Clermont’s alleged prostitution, but instead took her to task for stealing from a man who may have needed medical attention, the Associated Press reports.
“When faced with a real test of character, you chose to steal his debit card information,” U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald said.
Alesi is alleged to have passed out while he was with Clermont, but her defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told the court that his client did not realize that Alesi was “in any kind of distress.”
Buchwald was reportedly unconvinced, and responded, “I’m not sure I totally agree with you because I don’t know what happened in the 3 ½ hours she was in the apartment. Had she decided before she left to call 911, we don’t know what would have happened.”
In addition to the 12-month prison sentence, the judge ordered Clermont to forfeit $5,77.27 and pay restitution of $4,696.40, according to PIX11 News, a CW affiliate based in New York. Following her release, Clermont will also be placed on parole for three years, the outlet reports.
