From the Penthouse to the Big House: Real Housewife Could Spend More Than a Decade Behind Bars
Things are about to get extra real.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Jen Shah likes to say that “the only thing I’m guilty of is being Shah-mazing.” But on July 11, she pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and now faces the possibility of more than a decade in prison, per our sister site Variety.
The Crime
Shah and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering. She originally pleaded not guilty but changed her tune in federal court in Manhattan.
According to a statement the Department of Justice released in March 2021, Shah and Smith “allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam.” These “so-called business opportunities” that Shah, Smith and others presented to clients were, per the statement, “just fraudulent schemes, motivated by greed, to steal victims’ money.”
The Punishment
Shah won’t know her sentence until November 28. But she could serve up to 14 years in prison and will have to pay her victims more than $9 million in restitution. In court on July 11, Shah admitted that “I knew this was wrong. I knew many people were harmed, and I’m so sorry.”
The cynic in us wants to question whether she’s sorry she did it or sorry she got caught. Despite the scandal and potential prison stay, our sister site TVLine hears that the plan is for Shah to continue on as a part of the show. Gross. Guess crime pays after all.
Catch up on Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem, Chapter 2 in our photo gallery of episode No. 1.
