RHOSLC Star Jen Shah Cops To Wire Fraud & Releases Apologetic Statement Following Guilty Plea

Jen Shah is admitting to the harm she caused in that infamous telemarketing scheme she ran for years.

As we’ve been reporting, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star unexpectedly walked into a New York City courtroom on Monday and pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the telemarketing scam. The 48-year-old Bravo personality had previously pleaded not guilty in the case, but something clearly changed, because she’s now flipped the script in front of a judge. In turn, she also got the U.S. Attorney’s Office to drop the other charge against her, which had been for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Now, we’re learning more about what went down inside the courtroom.

According to ET, Shah spoke to Judge Sidney Stein on the record, and the reality TV veteran admitted she “knew” that her telemarketing fraud “misled” victims. In addition, Shah copped to understanding her product actually “had little to no value,” and was ruthlessly foisted on unsuspecting people who were “mostly over the age of 55.”

Shah told Judge Stein in court on Monday:

“In 2012 to March 2021 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere I agreed with others to commit wire fraud. I knew this was wrong. I knew many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.”

And she acknowledged the deceit at the center of the shady business scheme:

“[There was a] misrepresentation of the product … regarding value of the service.”

After the judge asked the Utah resident whether she knew what she’d been doing was “wrong and illegal,” Jen replied:

“Yes, your honor.”

Welp!

Later on Monday, Jen’s lawyer Priya Chaudhry released a message about the Bravo-lebrity. In the statement shared with Us Weekly, the RHOSLC star is supposedly keen to “pay her debt to society” as her prison sentencing date looms in November:

“Ms. Shah is a good woman who crossed a line. She accepts full responsibility for her actions and deeply apologizes to all who have been harmed. Ms. Shah is also sorry for disappointing her husband, children, family, friends, and supporters. Jen pled guilty because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family.”

Paying her debt to society may come at a very, very steep price. The reality star faces up to 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release on the strictest terms of her plea deal. She has to also forfeit $6.5 million and pay nearly $10 million in restitution to her victims.

As part of her guilty plea, Shah has agreed not to appeal Judge Stein’s decision if she is sentenced to any fewer than 14 years in prison. As we reported this morning, that sentencing date will come at the very end of November this year — right after Thanksgiving. So it won’t exactly a joyful season in the Shah household.

Following Jen’s appearance in court, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, also released a statement to the media:

“Jennifer Shah was a key participant in a nationwide scheme that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims. 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.”

So it goes, then.

An ugly day in Real Housewives history, that’s for sure. And yet justice has also been served for the victims in Shah’s scheme.

Reactions, Perezcious readers??

[Image via Jen Shah/Instagram]