Jen Shah, former star of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, owes her lawyer thousands of dollars in legal fees, according to a New York federal court filing. Shah pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July 2022 and was sentenced to serve 6.5 years behind bars. Her lawyer claimed that Shah accepts responsibility for her actions and wants to pay her debt to society.
Former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah is accused by her fraud case lawyer of owing $124,422.95 in unpaid fees and expenses, following the attorney’s motion to withdraw from her case.
Former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah continues to face legal troubles. She owes her fraud case lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, thousands of dollars in legal fees, according to a New York federal court filing. Chaudhry claimed that she and her law firm “filed a motion to withdraw as counsel” on March 24 “based on Ms. Shah’s unpaid fees and expenses.” Shah reportedly owes $124,422.95 to Chaudhry – $50,000 in unpaid fees and $74,422.95 in unpaid expenses. Shah pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in New York City in July 2022, for which she was sentenced to serve 6.5 years behind bars and reported to prison on February 17.
Shah’s legal troubles started in March 2021 when she and her former assistant Stuart Smith were arrested in connection to a nationwide telemarketing scheme that targeted victims 55 and older. Smith pleaded guilty in November 2021 to three counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. Fans of the reality show RHOSLC witnessed Shah’s arrest in season 2, and she continued to claim her innocence throughout season 3. Season 3 concluded with coverage of the Utah native’s guilty plea.
Heather Gay, who had shown support for Shah over the years, revealed in an interview with Us Weekly that her focus has now shifted to the victims and Shah’s family as well as the collateral damage of the crime she perpetrated and admitted to perpetuating. Shah’s prison sentence was discussed on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show Radio Andy, where Cohen stated that people who do not understand what’s going on with the internet or how many scams exist in the world are susceptible to situations such as Shah’s.
Despite being behind bars, Shah has not failed to keep herself busy. Her manager, Chris Giovanni, disclosed that she is staging a Real Housewives-inspired play with fellow inmates titled The Real Housewives of Bryan after the FPC Bryan prison in Texas. Although in its early stages, the production’s characters will be “cranked up to 11”, according to Giovanni. Shah has also been helping some prisoners to read and write and has been publishing pieces via her website.
