Jen Shah managed to squeeze 10 seasons’ worth of Real Housewives material in just 1.5 seasons of being on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. In a turn of events, Jen was arrested on Tuesday and is facing federal money laundering and fraud charges for being involved in a decade’s-long scheme that preyed on elderly people in multiple states. Apparently, attacking Whitney Rose in Vegas, fat-shaming Heather Gay and berating her minons employees really wasn’t the lowest she will go.
Also, Jen’s “first assistant” Stuart Smith, otherwise known to viewers as Stu-Chains, is facing the same charges. The NYPD states that the pair conned “hundreds” of victims in a scam that ran for at least 9 years. The maximum sentence for a fraud conspiracy charge is 30 years, so things aren’t looking good for the Queen B of the SLC.
While the news itself was shocking, fans are obviously wondering how this turn of events will play out on the show. The cast has been filming their second season, and rumor has it that Jen was tipped off about her looming arrest while heading out on a cast trip. Jeremy Harris, a court/crime reporter for KUTV in Utah, captured a video of Jen leaving the courthouse and claims that the Bravo cameras did too.
Jeremy tweeted a play-by-play of Jen’s first court appearance, from the details of her charges to the leopard boots she was wearing to outrun the paps. Then, a fan tweeted at Jeremy and asked if Bravo was there, he said yes. “I was standing right next to them,” Jeremy said when a fan asked how he was sure Bravo got it on tape.
RELATED: Jen Shah Arrested For Money Laundering And Fraud Scheme That Allegedly Targeted Elderly
While Jen’s glam court look definitely made a statement yesterday, she didn’t. She made no comments to reporters and scurried into a car, but we have the photos. Jen will not be held in jail while her case plays out, according to Jeremy. “Prosecutors are not seeking detention (she will not have to stay in jail) but will have a lot of conditions ahead of trial, including no asset transfers over $10,000 without court approval,” the reporter tweeted. He added that she has another court appearance on Wednesday, so this story is really just getting started.
If you thought RHOSLC couldn’t get any crazier than finding out Mary Cosby married her grandfather in Season 1, it looks like Season 2 might just prove you wrong. Let’s hope everybody, including Meredith Marks, will be engaging in the tea about the situation during next season’s confessionals.
RELATED: Jen Shah Reportedly Tipped Off About Arrest While Filming Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City
TELL US – WERE YOU SURPRISED JEN SHAH WAS ARRESTED FOR FRAUD? DO YOU THINK SHE WILL KEEP FILMING RHOSLC LEADING UP TO HER TRAIL?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
