On Friday January 6th, reality TV star Jen Shah was sentenced to 78 months in prison for her role in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded hundreds of victims out of millions of dollars. Shah, who rose to fame on Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in April 2021.

According to prosecutors, Shah and her business partner, Stuart Smith, operated a company that promised to help small businesses with their online marketing and advertising. However, instead of providing the promised services, Shah and Smith used high-pressure tactics to convince the victims to buy into their scheme and then pocketed the money.

“Shah and Smith built their opulent lifestyle at the expense of vulnerable small business owners, who were just trying to get a foothold in the online world,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss. “In reality, as Shah and Smith admitted, their company was a sham, and the ‘services’ it sold were largely worthless.”

The case against Shah and Smith garnered widespread attention, with many fans of the “Real Housewives” franchise expressing shock and disappointment at the news of Shah’s involvement in the fraud scheme.

Shah’s sentence marks the latest in a series of high-profile cases involving reality TV stars who have been caught up in legal trouble. It serves as a reminder that, even though they may be famous, reality TV stars are not immune to the consequences of their actions.

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