Jen Shah has ‘kept it real’ while filming the second season of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City amid her ongoing legal scandal.
A source close to production revealed that Jen “kept it real” while filming, after she was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“Jen didn’t hold back at all when talking about her legal issues on the show,” the insider told HollywoodLife. “She kept it very real and is maintaining her innocence to the ladies. She filmed full-time and this season will focus heavily on Jen.”
The source also emphasized that her co-stars had no prior knowledge of Jen’s alleged activity.
“The ladies really had no idea. They found out when the rest of the world did and were shocked. They feel she should be treated like anyone is in court which is innocent until proven otherwise,” the insider explained, adding, “They’re really hoping it’s not true, but they’re staying out of it and not discussing it past a surface level. Her friends on the cast are still talking to her and doing their best not to let this effect their friendship with her. They love Sherrief, her husband, and the boys are the nicest, most respectful guys.”
The news comes after Jen Shah and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested for their alleged roles in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims throughout the United States on Tuesday, March 30.
Shah and Smith were booked in Salt Lake City on conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering charges. They each face a maximum sentence of 30 years for the wire fraud charges and an additional 20 years for the money laundering charges.
“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,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a press release on Tuesday, reports the outlet. “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.”
“Shah and Smith flaunted their lavish lifestyle to the public as a symbol of their ‘success,’” HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh added. “In reality, they allegedly built their opulent lifestyle at the expense of vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people. As alleged, disturbingly, Shah and Smith objectified their very real human victims as ‘leads’ to be bought and sold, offering their personal information for sale to other members of their fraud ring. Working with our partners at the NYPD and the United States Attorney’s Office, SDNY, and with the assistance of HSI Salt Lake City, HSI New York worked to ensure that Shah and Smith will answer for their alleged crimes. As a result, their new reality may very well turn out differently than they expected.”
According to Us Weekly, New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea went on to thank the “hard work” of the NYPD for the case.
“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,” Shea said on Tuesday. “I congratulate the NYPD detectives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their hard work in bringing these persons to justice.”
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