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Jen Shah Had ‘No Prior Red Flags’ Of Fraud When Bravo Ran Background Check, Says Source!


Jen Shah’s record came up clean when Bravo cast the mother-of-two for Season 1 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, multiple sources told Page Six.

The network had hired a third party through a production company to conduct a background check on Shah, as it did with all the “RHOSLC” wives, sources said.

“Even in the best background checks, [the alleged scheme] is not going to come up — if there was a history of or current illegal activity, then that would be uncovered,” a source close to production said.

“There is a comprehensive background check and reports are vetted through the network and the production company.”

Sources said the probe would have only found past wrongdoing that was in the public record, not uncover any secret ongoing schemes.

“Since this investigation and arrest only happened this week, there would be no prior red flags that would have shown up,” a source told Page Six. “Bravo is not the FBI.”

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.”

On Friday, April 2, Jen pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Along with her local Utah lawyer, Clayton Simms, Jen hired Henry Asbill, a known white collar crimes defense attorney who works out of Washington, D.C. Shah called into the court hearing via Zoom two days after her initial hearing was postponed because too many people dialed into Wednesday’s virtual arraignment.

Federal prosecutors asked to impose a million-dollar recognizance bond for Shah, which will be secured by $250,000 in cash or property and requires a signature from two “responsible persons.” According to Asbill, however, Shah is “renting a home right now” and doesn’t have any property in her name, reports Us Weekly.

Production on season 2 is currently underway, with Shah expected to return alongside Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose, Heather Gay, Lisa Barlow, and Mary Cosby. Shah has yet to publicly comment on the case.

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