Jen Shah of the Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City has pleaded guilty to her involvement in a $5 million nationwide marketing scam that robbed aged people.
According to Daily Mail, Shah pleaded guilty before her Manhattan trial was set to begin on July 18. Jen and her assistant Stuart Smith were arrested on federal fraud charges in March 2021 on accusations of running a nationwide telemarketing and money laundering scheme of which hundreds of elderly victims were charged thousands of dollars to receive services that have no specifications and “provided little to no value to the victims,” according to a 10-page indictment.
Shah struggled to explain what she did for a living on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
“My background is in direct response marketing for about twenty years,” she said. “Our company does advertising. We have a platform that helps people acquire customers.”
Shah was more forthcoming in federal court on Monday, July 11, when she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The US attorney dropped her second count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the Mail reported.
She admitted knowing what she did “was wrong” and that she was “so sorry” for the “many people” who were ripped off.
The former reality TV star admitted that she “agreed with others to commit wire fraud” and “knew it misled” her elderly victims.
During the RHOSLC reality show reunion in March, Jen Shah broke down as she explained that she was “combating” the federal charges.
“I’m innocent. I will fight this for every person out there that can’t fight for themselves because they don’t have the resources or the means, so they don’t fight,” she said.
“I will fight because number one, I’m innocent, and number two I’m going to f—ing represent every other person out there that can’t fight and hasn’t been able to.”
The 48-year-old mom-of-two faces up to 14 years in prison when she is sentenced. She may also be ordered to pay $9.5 million in fines and restitution, per Page Six.