Jen Shah of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has taken to her Instagram to break her silence after being arrested by federal authorities for allegedly running a national telemarketing fraud scheme.
Jen re-posted several photos of herself that fans and fan pages had previously shared about her legal saga over the weekend. One of the re-uploaded tweets she shared read, “This is @therealjenshah appreciation post! #FreeJenShah #ShahSquad #RideorDie… love you sis [red heart emoji].”
Jen replied, “I’m in love with you. Thank you to my true friends and family. [red heart emoji] #SHAHSQUAD”
She wrote in another post, “Thank you for believing in me, Always.”
Jen also shared a side-by-side photo of herself and Kim Kardashian with the caption “Twinning,” and the song “Best Friend” by Saweetie playing in the background.
One of the photos was taken during a glam session on Tuesday, March 30th, the same day she was arrested by authorities. The 47-year-old reality star was all dolled up because she and her RHOSLC co-stars were about to film.
The cameras were rolling, a source previously told E! News. As mentioned by the insider, “Outside the courtroom, a crew from RHOSLC was filming everything for the show. The majority of the crew is in Colorado with the rest of the cast.”
Sources close to the cast said that they were unaware of Jen’s legal troubles and heard of her controversy the same way the rest of the world did. “The other Housewives are just finding out about this,” a different source revealed. “A lot of them were curious about Jen’s business, but no one expected these arrests.”
Jen and her first assistant Stuart Smith were arrested on two charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to launder money.
According to a press release from Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, from 2012 to March 2021, the reality TV star and her assistant “allegedly created and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam.”
Both of them, along with other unnamed co-conspirators, were “motivated by greed, to steal victims’ money,” according to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney. The bulk of the victims were said to be over 55 years old.
During a virtual arraignment on Friday, April 2, Jen and Stuart both pleaded not guilty to the charges. A judge, on the other hand, ordered the Bravo star to post a $1 million bail, adding, “There is a risk of flight here. It’s not insubstantial. I’m going to release her on the following conditions: I am going to require a personal recognizance bond of $1 million. I am going to require $250,000 to secure that bond in cash or property.”
She has one week to comply with the judge’s orders.
If Jen and Stuart are convicted, they could face up to 50 years in jail.
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