Police arrested “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah and charged her with running a fraudulent marketing scheme Tuesday.
Shah and her assistant Stuart Smith were both charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a press release. (RELATED: Kelly Clarkson Accuses Estranged Husband Of Fraud Amid Divorce)
Shah and Smith allegedly sold “business services” to people, most over the age of 55, in a telemarketing scheme, the press release stated.
BREAKING NEWS: “Real Housewives of SLC” star Jen Shah and assistant indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges.
She has been arrested, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah confirms. @fox13 #utpol #Utah
— Ben Winslow (@BenWinslow) March 30, 2021
“Jennifer Shah, who portrays herself as a wealthy and successful businessperson on reality television, and Stuart Smith … allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam,” said U.S. attorney, Audrey Strauss, in a statement.
“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,” the statement continued. “Now these defendants face time in prison for their alleged crimes.”
Both Shah and Smith were expected to appear in Salt Lake City federal court Tuesday afternoon, according to the press release.
Shah previously opened up about her job during a reunion for the first season of ‘Real Housewives.’
“My background is in direct response marketing for about 20 years, so our company does advertising,” Shah said at the time. “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.”
According to Screen Rant, Shah is the CEO and founder of three companies; JXA Fashion, Shah Beauty, and The Real Shah Lashes.