The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah has been arrested and charged with running a wide-ranging telemarketing fraud scheme. Shah faces charges alongside her assistant, Stuart Smith, who was also featured on the reality TV franchise. Shah and Smith have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering for allegedly selling “lead lists” for business opportunities that were nonexistent. The pair is accused of defrauding hundreds of victims, the Justice Department said.
The indictment (which can be viewed here) alleges the two carried out the scheme from at least 2012, in which they “generated and sold lead lists to other participants for use by their telemarketing sales floors with the knowledge that the individuals they had identified as ‘leads’ would be defrauded by the other participants.” The scheme involved selling services claiming to help victims manage their online businesses and make them more profitable. In reality, the “‘services’ would provide little or no value to the victims’ businesses.”
Shah’s extravagant lifestyle was featured prominently in “Real Housewives” series, showing her hosting elaborate parties, buying designer outfits and employing a group of assistants who traveled with her.
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