Jen Shah is pleading guilty to criminal fraud charges stemming from an alleged telemarketing scheme.
According to People, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star appeared in a New York court on (Monday), where she changed her original plea of not guilty to guilty.
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Inner City Press’ Matthew Russell Lee wrote in a Twitter thread that Jen admitted to Judge Sidney H. Stein she had committed “wire fraud, offering services with little to no value.”
She continued, “We used interstate telephones and emails. I knew many of the purchasers were over the age of 55. I am so sorry.”
The judge then asked why these things had been purchased, with Jen explaining that she had given “misrepresentations, regarding the value of the product or service, of which it had little to none.”
“Did you know it was wrong and illegal?” Judge Stein asked, at which point Jen replied, “Yes, your Honor.”
NBC News reports that she faces a sentence of 14 years in prison and has agreed to agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay restitution up to $9.5 million.
“Jennifer Shah was a key participant in a nationwide scheme that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims,” Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement after her plea.
He added, “These victims were sold false promises of financial security but instead Shah and her co-conspirators defrauded them out of their savings and left them with nothing to show for it. This Office is committed to rooting out these schemes whatever form they take.”
In April 2021, Jen and her assistant Stuart Smith were arrested for for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in a telemarketing scam. She maintained her innocence after the arrest and pleaded not guilty to the charges, while Stuart plead guilty in November 2021.
A few months ago, Jen made headlines for some shocking merch she was selling ahead of her trial.
