‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ Star Jen Shah Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Jen Shah, a cast member of reality series Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty Monday to fraud charges.

The plea was strategic in that Shah will avoid a jury trial. By pleading guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud, prosecutors dropped a second count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to Fox News.

Shah debuted as a member of the show in its November of 2020 premiere.

Shah had previously claimed outright that she was innocent, telling Bravo that she was going to “fight 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.”

“Jennifer Shah was a key participant in a nationwide scheme that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims,” said U.S. Attorney Damian William.

“These victims were sold false promises of financial security but instead Shah and her co-conspirators defrauded them out of their savings and left them with nothing to show for it,” William’s statement continued. “This Office is committed to rooting out these schemes whatever form they take.”

Shah will be sentenced on November 28, but if she is assessed the full punishment, she could spend 11 to 14 years in prison. Still, if she were convicted on both counts, she faced up to 50 years.

Several others involved in the scheme have also pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

Prosecutors alleged that Shah and her partner, Stuart Smith, engaged in a telemarketing scan selling “lead lists” of names of people to cajole into investing in their companies. The scheme defrauded thousands of people out of their money, the government said.

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