‘Real Housewives’ Star Jen Shah Arrested, Faces a Stiff Prison Sentence

Jen Shah from “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” is in trouble with the law.

People reports the reality star and her assistant Stuart Smith were arrested on Tuesday while filming in Vail, Colorado.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Shah and Smith have been “charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing through which they victimized 10 or more persons over the age of 55, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.”

They allegedly participated in a “Business Opportunity Scheme” from 2012 to March 2021 that “defrauded hundreds of victims.”

So far, Shah and Smith have not publicly commented.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss detailed the accusations in a statement, saying, “Jennifer Shah, who portrays herself as a wealthy and successful businessperson on ‘reality’ television, and Stuart Smith, who is portrayed as Shah’s ‘first assistant,’ allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam. In actual reality and as alleged, the so-called business opportunities pushed on the victims by Shah, Smith, and their co-conspirators were just fraudulent schemes, motivated by greed, to steal victims’ money. Now, these defendants face time in prison for their alleged crimes.”

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea added, “These individuals allegedly targeted and defrauded hundreds of victims but thanks to the hard work of the NYPD and our law enforcement partners, this illegal scheme was brought to an end.”

Shah was spotted outside Utah District Court on Tuesday wearing a fur coat, jeans, and leopard-print knee-high boots.

Reporter Jeremy Harris of KUTV2News was covering the court appearance and tweeted, “Prosecutors are not seeking detention (she will not have to stay in jail) but will have a lot of conditions ahead of trial, including no asset transfers over $10,000 without court approval. She will also not be allowed to engage in telemarketing.”

He added, “This is a short hearing and should wrap up soon. She has another appearance in the @SDNYnews (U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District New York) tomorrow. (The case was filed in NYC, she and her assistant were arrested and are appearing in [Salt Lake City]).”