“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah has been arrested and is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a purported long-running telemarketing scam, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
In November 2020, the reality star explained how she makes a living on Access Hollywood’s digital series, “Housewives Nightcap.”
“I own three different marketing companies and we do lead generation, data monetization, customer acquisition. The best way to describe it is, I’m the Wizard of Oz, I’m the one behind the curtain that no one knows exists but I’m the one making everything happen,” Shah said. “So ads are popping to you guys and they’re like, ‘How the hell do they know I’m shopping at Neiman Marcus?’ that’s me.”
She continued, “If you think about it, you know how much traffic is on the internet every second, all the people clicking, I’m making money on every click, anytime you click on anything I’m getting some money. I think because I’ve been blessed to be successful with my marketing background and my companies, I’ve really found a niche within the direct response marketing world, I’ve been able to branch out and invest in our fashion company, our skincare line, our lash line.”
“I’ve been able to, people will come to me and I’ll invest in their companies, so we have a got a lot of different investments, all different kinds of things. I’ve been able to do it because what I’ve been able to carve out, the niche I’ve been able to carve out in the direct response marketing world,” Shah said.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement on Tuesday, “Jennifer Shah, who portrays herself as a wealthy and successful businessperson on ‘reality’ television, and Stuart Smith, who is portrayed as Shah’s ‘first assistant,’ allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam. 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.”
Shah’s assistant Stuart Smith, who made appearances alongside shah on the hit reality show, has also been indicted and arrested.
According to the indictment against Shah and Smith, their alleged scam ran for at least nine years and the NYPD alleges that the two have “hundreds” of victims. Homeland Security noted that their victims were often “vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people.”
Access Hollywood reached out to the spokesperson for “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” and Shah’s rep who had no comment at the time.
Jen Shah recently rose to fame as a Housewife on Bravo newest franchise “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” Her housewife bio describes her has the “queen of her house and her businesses as the CEO of three marketing companies.”
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