Jen Shah Still Filming ‘RHOSLC’ Despite Guilty Plea: Producers Want To Tell ‘Her Story’

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Despite Jen Shah of The Real House of Salt Lake City pleading guilty to wire fraud charges in a telemarketing scheme she was arrested for in 2021, the Bravo cameras will keep rolling for her. “She’s had Meredith [Marks] and Heather [Gay] by her side, who have been very supportive of their friend during a difficult time. Obviously her legal troubles have not been easy for Jen, let alone making this decision to plead not guilty,” a source told People regarding the 48-year-old reality star’s situation. The insider added that her arrest, which was documented on Season 2 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, is “a very big part” of her story and “producers don’t want us to stop following it now.”

Jen changed her not guilty plea to guilty on July 11, which will potentially save her 16 years in prison. The reported deal will force her to return $9 million to the hundreds of victims she defrauded plus an additional $6 million. Jen is facing up to 14 years behind bars, as she said she would accept her punishment as long as it is 168 months or less of prison time. By pleading guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Jen no longer faces the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Although it may raise some eyebrows that Bravo wants to continue filming someone who pleaded guilty to a felony, it’s not unchartered territory for them. When Teresa Giudice and Joe Giudice from The Real Housewives of New Jersey were arrested in 2013 with a 39-count indictment, Bravo documented the ensuing drama as much as they could. Teresa and Joe each ended up serving more than a year in jail, and Joe was deported from America once he was released from prison.

Jen joined RHOSLC in Nov. 2020 and was arrested just a few months later in March 2021 with her former assistant, Stuart Smith. They both pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering at first. Stuart flipped his decision in Nov. 2021 and was sentenced to 72 months in jail plus an additional five years of supervised release. 

“Ms. Shah is a good woman who crossed a line. She accepts full responsibility for her actions and deeply apologizes to all who have been harmed,” Jen’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told People. HollywoodLife reached out to Jen’s representatives but did not immediately hear back.