Photos of Jen Shah’s arrest and exit from a Salt Lake City federal courthouse have surfaced, after the ‘RHOSLC’ star was charged with fraud and money laundering.
Just a few hours after news of Jen Shah‘s arrest broke, a photo of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star leaving a federal courthouse on March 30 was released. The 47-year-old Bravo star was flanked by reporters after making an appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Dustin Pead in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jen had been charged that Tuesday afternoon with “conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering,” which New York prosecutors announced in a press release.
Jen Shah is pictured above leaving the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah after being arrested in connection to an alleged telemarketing scheme on March 30, 2021. [Alberto Reyes/Shutterstock]After exiting the courthouse, Jen was also pictured inside a vehicle (which you can see among the photos below). Earlier that day, the marketing business owner was seen getting arrested and being taken away by a Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in this photo obtained by TMZ. Jen was wearing a furry jacket, skinny jeans, black face mask and knee-high leopard print boots as she was taken into custody, and wore the same ensemble for her court appearance.
Jen Shah can also be seen here on the day of her arrest. [Alberto Reyes/Shutterstock]Prosecutors are accusing Jen and her assistant, Stuart Smith (who was also arrested), of participating in a telemarketing scheme that allegedly “defrauded hundreds of victims” between 2012-March of 2021, according to their formal statement. The prosecutors alleged that Jen and her assistant scammed the victims (which prosecutors claimed were mostly over the age of 55) by selling them “so-called ‘business services’.”
Jen Shah is pictured here being driven away from the SLC federal courthouse on March 30, 2021. [Shutterstock]“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 added in the press release. The statement continued, “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.” Jen is now facing up to 30 years in prison, if she is convicted.
Jen Shah, who is described as the “CEO of three marketing companies” in her Bravo bio, has been accused of defrauding “hundreds of victims.” [BRAVO]HollywoodLife has reached out to Jen’s rep amid her arrest, but we have not received a response. Jen joined her co-stars Lisa Barlow, Heather Gay, Meredith Marks and Whitney Rose to make up RHOSLC‘s very first cast for the Bravo show’s premiere in Nov. 2020. Season 2 is reportedly filming at the moment. In the Season 1 reunion, which aired in Feb. 2021, Jen discussed her business after Andy Cohen asked why she needs four assistants (a question from a fan).
Jen Shah with two of her RHOSLC co-stars, Meredith Marks and Lisa Barlow. [Instagram]
“I need a lot of help, you know? They all do different things…I run a lot of different companies and businesses, and a lot of them have different roles in the companies,” Jen replied. After Andy asked for specifics of Jen’s line of work, she explained, “My background is in direct-response marketing for about 20 years, so our company does advertising. We have a platform that helps people acquire customers, so when you’re shopping online or on the Internet, and something pops, we have the algorithm behind why you’re getting served that ad.”
