From Real Housewives to the Big House: Will Jen Shah go to federal prison for fraud?

I’m sure that you’ve watched reality tv and asked yourself “How do these people make money?”

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice helped us answer that question when they arrested Jennifer Shah for leading a massive fraud conspiracy. Shah is an inaugural cast member of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (“RHOSLC”). If you don’t watch the show, here’s the premise: a camera crew puts a microscope on a few rich people in Utah, while they do things that only rich people have time to do. These rich people somehow manage to stay rich without having to work a “real” job.

This description fits Jen Shah, one of the least redeemable characters on reality tv. In her first season on tv, she managed to turn off her fellow co-stars and the fans by being annoyingly aggressive in every situation and uncomfortably lavish. Nothing about Shah makes sense. Her Bravo TV bio says she is: the CEO of three marketing companies (huh?) and always decked out in designer brands (okay, and?).

On March 30, 2021, Shah was arrested for two big federal crimes: (1) conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and (2) conspiracy to commit money laundering.

SIDEBAR

A person is guilty of wire fraud (18 U.S. Code § 1343) when every answer to these three questions is Yes: (1) Did the defendant create or participate in a scheme to defraud others? (2) Did the defendant intend to defraud others? (3) Did the defendant use radio, television, or any wire communication (like phone or email) to defraud others across state lines?

A person is guilty of money laundering (18 U.S. Code § 1956(a)(1)(B)(i)) when they engaged in illegal activity in connection with a financial transaction and knew that the transaction is designed to disguise the nature, source, or ownership of the proceeds of the unlawful activity.

To put it plainly — the U.S. government believes Jen Shah (and her assistant) scammed older people out of their money in three steps. First, Shah told people that she could teach them how to make money online. Second, Shah sold “business services” and “coaching” to these people, encouraging people to sell Shah’s services and coaching to their friends and family. Third, Shah pocketed the money, but the victims who paid her never made a dime. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

This kinda thing is not new. It’s called a multi-level marketing scheme. You’ve probably seen them online and maybe you’ve fallen for one yourself. Just this week I got a text from an unknown number asking if I wanna buy a product to help “get rid of my fat stomach.” (I resent that, by the way).

However, usually these fraudsters are faceless names or companies behind a computer screen. They are NEVER, EVER on national tv.

That’s where Jen Shah messed up. She stepped on Bravo to flaunt her stupid levels of wealth, but there was no explanation as to how she made money. If there’s anything Americans care about more than football, it’s how other people make money. As we watched Episode 1 of RHOSLC, everybody on the internet was asking, “How does Jen Shah make money?” Andy Cohen and Access Hollywood asked that question, too.

Shah’s response? “We do lead generation, data monetization, so it’s customer acquisition. I’m basically, the best way to describe it is, I’m the Wizard of Oz.”

Well, do you remember how the Wizard of Oz was just one person behind the curtain? It seems like the same can be said of Shah’s businesses.

Shah is following a long line of D-list celebrities who are all smoke and mirrors.

• Abby Lee Miller from Dance Moms declared bankruptcy but failed to report her income from the show and she was caught smuggling “more than $120,000 worth of Australian currency into the U.S. by divvying up the cash into plastic bags and having friends carry them in their luggage.”
• Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice and her ex-husband Joe both went to prison after they allegedly hid assets and lied about their income.
• Ray Hushpuppi became a social media sensation for constantly posting about his luxury lifestyle, but no one was surprised when The Department of Justice announced that Hushpuppi conspired to launder money from an English Premier League soccer club and allegedly stole over $14MM in a cyber-attack 2 years ago.

It’s interesting that white collar criminal would willingly put themselves in the limelight. This is not the first time government investigators (or internet investigators) discovered the truth when things seemed too good to be true. When RHOSLC began in 2020, Shah’s fraud ring had been around for 8 years. She couldn’t have possibly imagined that her illegal activity would stay under the radar. Not only does it show her level of hubris, it shows her level of stupidity. Is there anyone else on tv who’s lack of self awareness bit them in the butt to such a large degree?

Note to future reality stars: maybe don’t agree to go on television if you’re also the head of a criminal organization.