Jen Shah is reportedly changing her plea from not guilty to guilty over a year after being arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering.
According to a series of updates shared on social media, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member, who is accused of running a years-long telemarketing scheme (with former assistant Stuart Smith, who already changed his plea to guilty) that supposedly targeted the elderly, will plead guilty to the crimes.
“Breaking, and we mean real breaking, [Jen Shah] is going to plead guilty right now. In a surprise move, Jen Shah has snuck into court to plead guilty with the Court giving one minutes notice on the docket. We have been saying this for a year, no defenses,” attorney Ronald Richards announced on July 11, also sharing a court document in which the change of plea was confirmed.
🚨🚨🚨🚨Breaking, and we mean real breaking, @therealjenshah is going to plead guilty right now. In a surprise move, Jen Shah has snuck into court to plead guilty with the Court giving one minutes notice on the docket. We have been saying this for a year, no defenses. More to fl pic.twitter.com/PcwwyBo0bH
— Ronald Richards (@RonaldRichards) July 11, 2022
Ronald later shared the guideline stipulation for Jen’s guilty plea, which includes up to 168 months in prison, forfeiting $6 million, and $9 million in restitution.
Guideline stipulation: 168 months in prison
Forfeiture stipulation: $6 million
Restitution: $9 million
This means she gives up $6m in any claim on assets already seized and when she gets out, she has to pay another $9 million. This shows how substantial her wire fraud was.— Ronald Richards (@RonaldRichards) July 11, 2022
Ronald added: “Jen Shah is pleading guilty to count 1, conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The govt will dismiss the money laundering count. This will slightly mitigate her exposure but not by much. She is facing a substantial sentence. ”
Jen Shah is pleading guilty to count 1, conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The govt will dismiss the money laundering count. This will slightly mitigate her exposure but not by much. She is facing a substantial sentence. Here are the facts she is pleading to. pic.twitter.com/KoFccwaY6N
— Ronald Richards (@RonaldRichards) July 11, 2022
Ronald then pointed to a different Twitter page, which reported the same news.
“A week before her trial’s start date, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reality TV personality Jen Shah to plead out this morning in Manhattan federal court on telemarketing fraud charges she previously pleaded not guilty to,” Courthouse News reporter Josh Russell shared.
A week before her trial's start date, 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' reality TV personality Jen Shah to plead out this morning in Manhattan federal court on telemarketing fraud charges she previously pleaded not guilty to. @CourthouseNews pic.twitter.com/hpJmMWsRBa
— JOSH RUSSELL (@jruss_jruss) July 11, 2022
CBS News reported Cassandra Gauthier also commented, quoting Josh’s tweet and saying, “After all of the denials, broken drinking glasses, feather-coifed TV moments- it comes down to the SDNY where Jen Shah changes her plea- and pleads guilty.”
https://twitter.com/cassgtv/status/1546507245382426625
A short time later, Josh shared a series of additional posts on Twitter, updating his online audience on the time Jen is facing and the fines she’ll likely be forced to pay.
“Jen Shah’s plea agreement with the government stipulates a sentence guideline range (which Judge Stein doesn’t have to follow) of 135 to 168 months in prison – 11.25 to 14 years, and $9.5 million in restitution,” read another tweet.
Jen Shah’s plea agreement with the government stipulates a sentence guideline range (which Judge Stein doesn’t have to follow) of 135 to 168 months in prison – 11.25 to 14 years, and $9.5 million in restitution.
— JOSH RUSSELL (@jruss_jruss) July 11, 2022
UPDATE: Jen has officially pled guilty and her sentencing date has now been set for November 28, 2022.
Jen Shah’s sentencing date is set for November 28, 2022! Jen’s plea agreement stipulates a guideline range of 11.25 to 14 years, and $9.5 million in restitution! 🚨🚨 #RHOSLC pic.twitter.com/4oEimqOZH1
— The Real Housewives of SLC (@housewivesofslc) July 11, 2022
Ironically, news of Jen’s guilty plea comes just hours after her RHOSLC co-star, Meredith Marks, who she appeared to grow close with amid season three following a series of tense moments in season two, shared an Instagram Story in which she spoke of being “innocent until proven guilty.’
“For those of you who may not know this: I live in the United States of America. In the US, one has a right to a trial and is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” her post proclaimed.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season three is expected to begin airing sometime later this year on Bravo.