Usually, most of the drama on Bravo’s hit “Real Housewives” series is manufactured at best and flat-out fake at worst. But the drama is real for “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah.
If you haven’t followed her saga, it’s a doozy. She is the over-the-top diva with a huge fan base for her opulent lifestyle and bold personality. She was also charged by the Feds with running a nationwide telemarketing scheme that targeted senior citizens.
After proclaiming her innocence for months, she pleaded guilty to wire fraud Monday in a dramatic courtroom reversal that had jaws dropping worldwide.
It was a plea deal with prosecutors, and she changed her plea guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In the agreement, she agreed to forfeit $6.5 million, pay restitution to the tune of $9.5 million, and she still faces prison time of up to 14 years.
In front of the judge, she admitted she knew what she did was wrong and had harmed many people. She also admitted that their product was misrepresented on purpose and “had little or no value.”
As for why she had the about-face and fessed up to serious federal charges, her attorney told NBC that she pled guilty “because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family.”
Here’s more from her attorney in the NBC report.
“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.”
Her trial was supposed to begin next week. She joined RHOSLC in November of 2020 and became one of the series’s most fiery, popular, and polarizing personalities. Her sentencing is set for November 28.
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