Jen Shah

The Real Housewives' spectacle of unearned wealth was all fun and games until Jen Shah defrauded the elderly.

But as more and more crimes have piled up, and now with the criminal charges [against ex-Housewives husband Tom Girardi](https://www.vox.com/2021/8/12/22620854/rhobh-erika-jayne-lawsuit-true-crime) and accusations of [religious abuse](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a38320133/mary-cosby-church-rhoslc-cult-leader-cameron/) against [former RHOSLC cast member Mary Cosby](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rhoslcs-mary-cosby-is-accused-of-running-a-religious-cult-by-former-congregation-members), it seemed almost inevitable that the day would arrive when the money we loved to watch would come, in clearly criminal and unwilling form, from us. And it becomes a particularly heady game with producers: It seems like the editors’ intent is to show how much Shah was willing to put herself on camera in an effort to save her case. What I thought started out to be an investment in a company that I could pass on to my children if the business got off the ground successfully, ended up almost ruining ALL OF OUR LIVES,” one of the victims wrote to the presiding judge, asking for appropriate punishment for Shah. She talks often about how hard the trial is, how hard it is to fight against a system that she says is stacked against her. The legal advice she seems to have been given, as evidenced by how she approached her case on the show, was to keep reiterating, on camera, that she was innocent and reminding us that in the American justice system, people are innocent until proven guilty. The show soured for Shah in her second season when her March arrest was caught on tape. [ According to NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/real-housewives-salt-lake-city-star-jen-shah-pleads-guilty-wire-fraud-rcna37631), Shah agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and pay up to $9.5 million in restitution. But her time on the show slowly morphed into a weird, often bleak, look at the legal fight to keep her out of jail. If someone’s selling a business, it’s in their best interest to project an image that doesn’t tarnish the brand — and again, that isn’t really “real” behavior. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, this was “in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering.” Back in March 2021, Shah was arrested (during filming, and more on this in a bit) along with Stuart Smith, whom the show described as her “assistant.” The pair were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. [married her step-grandfather](https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a34930757/real-housewives-salt-lake-city-mary-cosby-grandfather-marriage/) and has a child by him).