‘RHOSLC’ Star Jen Shah Speaks out After Pleading Guilty to Fraud

Jen Shah is speaking out after pleading guilty to charges stemming from her involvement in a money-laundering scheme. Monday, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star accepted “full responsibility” for her actions in a statement through her lawyer, Priya Chaudhry.

“Ms. Shah is a good woman who crossed a line,” the statement to Entertainment Tonight reads. “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. Jen pled guilty because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family.”

The Bravo star deviated from her initial not guilty plea Monday in court, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. The second count, conspiracy to commit money laundering, was dropped. Shah now faces up to 30 years in prison and five years of supervised release. The RHOSLC star agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay restitution up to $9.5 million.   

Despite pleading guilty, the reality TV personality will continue to film for the upcoming third season of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, an insider told PEOPLE. “She’s had Meredith [Marks] and Heather [Gay] by her side, who have been very supportive of their friend during a difficult time,” the insider said. “Obviously her legal troubles have not been easy for Jen, let alone making this decision to plead guilty.”

They continued that this case has been “a very big part of Jen’s story,” and will continue to be a major part of the next season. “Producers don’t want us to stop following it now,” the insider added. “They’ll keep filming with her as long as they can, just like they did with Teresa [Giudice].”

Shah and her assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested in March 2021 for allegedly having “generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said at the time. They were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Both Shah and Smith originally pleaded not guilty, but he eventually changed his plea to guilty that same year. Smith has not yet been sentenced.