Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah pleaded guilty to running a $5 million nationwide marketing scam that robbed elderly people.
Shah pleaded guilty before her trial was set to begin in Manhattan on July 18, according to DailyMail.com.
RELATED: RHOSLC star Jen Shah and her assistant arrested on fraud charges
The 48-year-old mom-of-two faces up to 14 years in prison when she is sentenced. She may also be ordered to pay $9.5 million in fines and restitution, per Page Six.
Shah and her assistant Stuart Smith were arrested on federal fraud charges in March 2021. The reality TV personality is accused of running a nationwide telemarketing and money laundering scheme.
Hundreds of elderly victims were charged thousands of dollars to receive unspecified services which “provided little to no value to the victims,” according to a 10-page indictment.
Shah struggled to explain what she did for a living on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
“My background is in direct response marketing for about twenty years,” she said. “Our company does advertising. We have a platform that helps people acquire customers.”
Shah was more forthcoming in federal court on Monday, July 11, when she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The US attorney dropped her second count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the Mail reported.
She admitted knowing what she did “was wrong” and that she was “so sorry” for the “many people” who were ripped off.
The former reality TV star admitted that she “agreed with others to commit wire fraud” and “knew it misled” her elderly victims.
During the RHOSLC reunion show in March, Shah broke down as she explained that she was “fighting” the federal charges.
“I’m innocent. I will fight this for every person out there that can’t fight for themselves because they don’t have the resources or the means, so they don’t fight,” she said.
“I will fight because number one, I’m innocent, and number two I’m going to f—ing represent every other person out there that can’t fight and hasn’t been able to.”
