Jen Shah may be headed to jail, but it doesn’t look like she’s disappearing from TV screens … yet.
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star on Monday pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Shah was arrested in March 2021, and the fallout of the arrest played out on the second season of the series.
On the show, Shah claimed she was innocent, but that all changed on Monday when she changed her plea.
The 48-year-old revealed to the judge that she lied to senior citizens by offering them business opportunities that would amount to little to no value to them.
“We used interstate telephones and emails. I knew many of the purchasers were over the age of 55,” Shah said.
“I am so sorry.”
“[I] knew it was wrong. Many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.”
The bombshell anouncement took many by surprise, especially because Shah had vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
“I will fight because No. 1, I’m innocent and No. 2, I’m going to f–king represent every other person out there that can’t fight and hasn’t been able to,” Shah said earlier this year during the reunion for Season 2.
Now, the star will not stand trial and will be sentenced in November.
According to a source close to RHOSLC, Shah has not been let go from the series, and is actually still filming.
Jen’s story will be centered around the legal woes she’s faced, an insider told People Magazine.
“Producers don’t want us to stop following it now. They’ll keep filming with her as long as they can, just like they did with Teresa [Giudice].”
The news means that fans well get a front-row seat to all the drama as it plays out on the show.
Producers reportedly ramped up Season 3 production much earlier than planned to capture as much footage as possible for the series.
Shah knows how to stir the pot on the series, so it makes sense that Bravo would want as many episodes with the embattled star as possible.
Then again, it also begs a question about whether they’re rewarding bad behavior by keeping her on the show.
“Jennifer Shah was a key participant in a nationwide scheme that targeted elderly, vulnerable victims,” Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in a statement after Shah changed her plea.
“These victims were sold false promises of financial security but instead Shah and her co-conspirators defrauded them out of their savings and left them with nothing to show for it.”
What are your thoughts on the decision to keep Jen on the show?
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.