As previously reported, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star 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.
A source confirmed to Variety an anonymous tip sent to the Instagram account @twojudgeygirls, that Shah was filming Season 2 with the rest of the cast preparing for a trip to Colorado, reported Page Six.
Shah departed, citing an emergency with her husband, and federal law enforcement subsequently swarmed the production in search of Shah. The source added that cameras were rolling at the time, though it was unclear if the feds stopped them from filming.
Now, sources reveal how her arrest may impact her role on RHOSLC and insiders also share how Shah allegedly feels about her legal drama.
Jen Shah was indicted for her alleged role in a long-running telemarketing scheme while filming season 2 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City — and all eyes are on the Bravo star as she faces up to 50 years in prison.
Bravo viewers met Shah during season 1 of RHOSLC, which filmed in 2019 and aired in 2020. She quickly became a polarizing character on the franchise, with fans questioning her job and need for several assistants.
“People will come to me and I’ll invest in their companies, so we have a got a lot of different investments, all different kinds of things,” Shah said of her career on Access Hollywood’s “Housewives Nightcap” in November 2020. “I’ve been able to do it because what I’ve been able to carve out, the niche I’ve been able to carve out in the direct response marketing world.”
Not long after production began on season 2 of RHOSLC, which also stars Meredith Marks, Whitney Rose, Heather Gay, Lisa Barlow and Mary Cosby, news broke on March 30 that Shah and one of her assistants who appeared on the show, Stuart Smith, were arrested in Utah.
“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. “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.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh claimed that Shah and Smith “built their opulent lifestyle at the expense of vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people.”
“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,” Fitzhugh said. “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.”
A source revealed that Shah is “embarrassed” by her legal scandal. “Jen is really humiliated that all of this is happening in the public eye and that it will be shown on Bravo,” the source told Us Weekly, noting at the time that Shah hasn’t “been talking to her castmates or friends” following her arrest.
It's been reported that Bravo cameras were rolling on the day of Shah’s arrest.
“Jen was filming with a few of the other women present when she was arrested. The women were completely shocked when Jen was taken away,” the source told Us Weekly, noting that the group was gearing up for a trip to Colorado at the time.
Another source told the publication that the cast “resumed filming after Jen’s arrest” without her.
“Jen’s future this season remains unclear. If she will go back to filming or not, no one is really sure, she hasn’t resumed filming yet,” the source said at the time.
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.”
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.
Photo Credit: Bravo Media/NBCUniversal
