No stranger to the limelight, Jennifer Shah of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City fame was arrested this past March on charges of money laundering as part of a national telemarketing scheme she allegedly ran alongside her assistant Stuart Smith.
Federal authorities began investigating Shah’s lavish lifestyle which was flaunted throughout her time on the reality TV show before uncovering a “sprawling telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of people over a span of almost 10 years”, according to The Washington Post.
The alleged scheme targeted business owners, most of them aged 55 and up, offering them “lead generation” and other business assistance including web design and online coaching even though most of the victims were found to not own computers.
The indictment, which was prepared by Homeland Security Investigations and NYPD, states that “at no point did the defendants intend that the victims would actually earn any of the promised return on their intended investment, nor did the victims actually earn any such returns.”
Shah was released from custody the same day of her arrest and her arraignment was postponed due to technical issues with the virtual hearing in early April. Both Shah and Smith were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If found guilty for both these charges they could face up to 50 years in federal prison.
The case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. As this is an ongoing case, and Shah and Smith are presumed innocent until proven guilty, we will continue to monitor as more information becomes available.
