‘RHOSLC’: Jen Shah Changes Plea to Guilty in Major Fraud Case; Faces Years in Prison and Must Pay Victims Millions
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah is singing an entirely different tune than the one she’s been singing for over a year in her fraud case. Shah has changed her plea to guilty after maintaining her innocence just ahead of the scheduled trial. Her guilty plea comes months after her longtime assistant Stuart Smith plead guilty to the alleged Ponzi scheme. They were initially indicted for their alleged role in a long-running telemarketing scheme charge.
In a statement from Page Six, Shah’s attorney expressed why the reality star changed her plea at the final moment. “Jen pled guilty because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family,” Priya Chaudhry told Page Six. “Ms. Shah is a good woman who crossed a line. She accepts full responsibility for her actions and deeply apologizes to all who have been harmed. Ms. Shah is also sorry for disappointing her husband, children, family, friends, and supporters.” Shah told the judge that she knew her victims were 55 and older and what she engaged in was “wrong and illegal.”
Jen Shah pleads guilty in fraud case; faces jail time and must pay millions
The extravagant housewife was set to stand trial in just one week but had a change of heart. TMZ reports Shah took a plea deal according to court documents the media outlet uncovered on Monday, July 11.
Shah went before a judge and pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. Part of her plea deal allowed for prosecutors to drop one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The plea calls for upwards of 14 years behind bars for Shah. She also is required to pay back over $9 million to her alleged victims and forfeit another $6 million.
How she said the case was affecting her life and why she chose to fight via trial before plea deal
Just weeks before her plea, Shah sat for her first in-depth interview, where she spoke about the toll the case was taking on her and her family. At the time, she continued to maintain her innocence. She said she was not fearful going into the trial. Her husband Sharrieff, aka Coach Shah, sat beside her during the interview for support and said he believed his wife was innocent.
“We’re fighters, we give everything out all, and the most important thing to me is my family, and I’m going into this with the mindset of ‘I’m fighting for my family. You can’t stop me,'” she said during an exclusive sit-down interview with Up and Adam. “So I’m not afraid, because I can’t be afraid going into this.” In terms of the verdict she hopes for, Shah wants to prove her innocence. “The outcome that I’m hoping for and that I’m looking forward to at trial is the truth finally coming out,” she said firmly.
She simply wants people to see beyond an image that’s been depicted on screen, telling Up and Adam: “I’m hoping that the viewers take away from our conversation today si that there is more to Jen Shah than what they see, the caricature, on the TV show. I’m a mother, I’m a wife, I’m a sister, an aunt, a godmother – I’m so many more things than what their perception is of me, and I’m hoping that’s what people take away after seeing our discussion today.”
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