Andy Cohen expressed his sadness and disbelief after Jen Shah’s arrest.
The reality guardian and host of “Radio Andy” returned to his SiriusXM program on Monday – the first time Cohen returned to the air after news of the arrest of the “Salt Lake City real housewives” star on 31 December March on federal charges of conspiracy to commit telegram fraud in connection with an alleged telemarketing scam and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and although Cohen did not voluntarily address the issue, it was a caller who led him to break the silence.
“Oy vey,” Cohen, 52, exhaled before exposing his disappointment.
“I’m waiting to see how it goes,” said the host of “Watch What Happens Live”. “I have nothing to add to what we already know, except I certainly hope and pray that none of this is true.”
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Shah, 47, and his first assistant, Stuart Smith, 43, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Friday to a charge of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud in connection with telemarketing and a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
During the prosecution, much of the conversation focused on the value of Shah’s bail and the judge who presided over the matter agreed with the government’s request to establish a strict $ 1 million bail guaranteed in cash or property – a request that Shah’s lawyers considered it excessive.
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Prosecutors also suggested that Shah is hiding assets and that she and Smith controlled a Shell company that owned at least $ 5 million in the fraud.
“She has shown no willingness to reveal her assets,” said assistant attorney Kiersten Fletcher.
Jen Shah was arrested on federal fraud charges. (Photo by: Chad Kirkland / Bravo)
In a press release from the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York this week, Shah and Smith are accused of victimizing 10 or more people over 55 in a telemarketing scheme – a penalty for the prosecution of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud in connection with telemarketing carries a maximum penalty of 30 years. The second charge of Shah’s conspiracy to commit money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
“Jennifer Shah, who portrays herself as a wealthy and successful business person on reality television, and Stuart Smith, portrayed as Shah’s ‘first assistant’, allegedly generated and sold ‘lead lists’ of innocent individuals to other members of your scheme to defraud repeatedly, “Manhattan prosecutor Audrey Strauss claimed in a statement last week.
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Shah is in the main cast of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City”, which completed its first season in February.
According to his Bravo biography, Shah “is the queen of his home and business as CEO of three marketing companies”.
Watch What Happens Live presenter Andy Cohen broke his silence about the federal prison of ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ star Jen Shah.
(Getty)
During the “Housewives” meeting, the Bravo big shot asked Shah about his business.
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“My experience has been in direct response marketing for about 20 years, so our company does advertising,” she said at the time. “We have a platform that helps people acquire customers, so when you’re shopping online or on the Internet and something comes up, we have the algorithm behind why this ad is being displayed.”
Shah said his business requires a lot of moving parts to keep spinning and added about his various assistants: “I need a lot of help, you know? They all do different things,” explained Shah.
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“I run many different companies and businesses, and many of them have different roles within companies.”
The star of the reality show Bravo faces a maximum of 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Marta Dhanis, Melissa Roberto and Fox News’ The Associated Press contributed to this report.