LOCAL NEWS

Jen Shah, ‘Real Housewives of SLC’ star, pleads guilty to wire fraud

Jul 11, 2022, 10:44 AM | Updated: 11:07 am
"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah (Photo by: Chad Kirkland/Bravo)...
"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Jen Shah (Photo by: Chad Kirkland/Bravo)
(Photo by: Chad Kirkland/Bravo)

NEW YORK — “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah has pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges.

Shah previously pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being accused of running a nationwide telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims throughout the U.S. — most of them senior citizens.

According to NBC News, Shah entered into the agreement with federal prosecutors, changing her plea to guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud Monday morning in a New York courtroom.

“Jennifer Shah was a key participant in a nationwide scheme that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims. 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,” said Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Shah faces a sentence of up to 14 years in prison and agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay restitution up to $9.5 million. She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein on Nov. 28.

Shah was arrested in March 2021. Officials also arrested Shah’s assistant, 43-year-old Stuart Smith, of Lehi.

Both pleaded not guilty the next month, but Smith changed his plea to guilty in November.

Prosecutors said Shah and Smith, as well as an unspecified number of other participants, had carried out a wide-ranging telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of older and computer illiterate people across the U.S. from 2012 to 2021.

The scheme involved selling lists of potential victims who had made initial investments in creating an online business, and it had operations in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New York and New Jersey, according to the Department of Justice.

“Shah and Smith flaunted their lavish lifestyle to the public as a symbol of their ‘success,’” according to Peter C. Fitzhugh, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge. “In reality, they allegedly built their opulent lifestyle at the expense of vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people.”

NBC News reported that Shah, 48, said in court she “knew it was wrong, many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.”

She admitted that she “agreed with others to commit wire fraud” and “knew it misled” victims.

Shah added there was a “misrepresentation of the product … regarding value of the service,” noting it “had little to no value.”

KSL 5 TV Live

Top Stories

Local News

(Chopper 5/KSL TV)...
Josh Ellis

Crews recover body of missing snowmobiler who was buried in Utah County avalanche

Search crews say they located and recovered the body of a man who was buried in an avalanche while snowmobiling in western Utah County.
9 hours ago
Gwyneth Paltrow enters the courtroom for her trial, Monday, March 27, 2023, in Park City, Utah. The...
Sam Metz

Gwyneth Paltrow’s experts to testify in Utah ski crash case

Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys are expected to call a series of experts and read depositions from her two teenage children as the trial over her 2016 Utah ski collision with a Utah man enters its sixth day.
9 hours ago
(UDOT)...
Josh Ellis

Crash snarls morning commute for Davis County drivers

A rollover crash is blocking multiple southbound Interstate 15 lanes near Glover Lane, leading to massive delays for commuters.
9 hours ago
The Atwater snowpack site in Alta, operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is pictu...
Carter Williams

Utah’s record snowpack: Which basins have collected the most water so far this year?

Utah's snowpack continues to climb after soaring past the 26-inch mark on Friday, besting 1983 as the best season in the modern age of snowpack collection records.
9 hours ago
The Moffitt family (Jackson Grimm/KSL TV)...
Shara Park

Shot in the line of duty: Sandy officer, family, share how fateful day brought them closer together

A federal judge Monday sentenced a Utah man involved in gunfire that injured a Sandy officer. That officer, Sgt. Greg Moffitt, his wife and three daughters spoke exclusively with KSL about how that day impacted their family.
1 day ago
Flags fly at half-staff at the Utah Capitol. (Photo from @GovCox/Twitter)...
Madison Swenson

Gov. Cox orders flags be lowered in honor of Nashville shooting victims

Gov. Spencer Cox has ordered all flags in Utah be lowered to half-staff in honor of the three children and three adults killed in a school shooting in Nashville.
1 day ago

Sponsored Articles

Stack of old laptops with dark background...
PC Laptops

Old Laptop Upgrades You Need to Try Before Throwing it Away

Get the most out of your investment. Try these old laptop upgrades before throwing it out to keep it running fast and efficient.
Happy diverse college or university students are having fun on their graduation day...
BYU MBA at the Marriott School of Business

How to Choose What MBA Program is Right for You: Take this Quiz Before You Apply!

Wondering what MBA program is right for you? Take this quiz before you apply to see if it will help you meet your goals.
Close up of an offset printing machine during production...
Les Olson IT

Top 7 Reasons to Add a Production Printer to Your Business

Learn about the different digital production printers and how they can help your company save time and money.
vintage photo of lighting showroom featuring chandeliers, lamps, wall lights and mirrors...
Lighting Design

History of Lighting Design | Over 25 Years of Providing Utah With the Latest Trends and Styles

Read about the history of Lighting Design, a family-owned and operated business that paved the way for the lighting industry in Utah.
Fiber Optical cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports...
Brian Huston, CE and Anthony Perkins, BICSI

Why Every Business Needs a Structured Cabling System

A structured cabling system benefits businesses by giving you faster processing speeds and making your network more efficient and reliable.
notebook with password notes highlighted...
PC Laptops

How to Create Strong Passwords You Can Actually Remember

Learn how you can create strong passwords that are actually easy to remember! In a short time you can create new ones in seconds.
Jen Shah, ‘Real Housewives of SLC’ star, pleads guilty to wire fraud