Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah has been dealt another blow in her alleged involvement in a $5million telemarketing scheme after being placed into a group of suspects with ‘greater culpability.’
TMZ reports that federal agents have moved Shah, 47, and five others into the US Attorney’s ‘Tier A’ category for the alleged crimes targeting elderly people, accusing her of ‘orchestrating’ the scam.
According to legal documents obtained by the site, the prosecutor claims the group of individuals, including Shah, were ‘senior participants’ in the alleged scheme, and ‘continued to participate’ even when they were made aware ‘criminal charges could be coming.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for Shah who has so far been unavailable for comment.
Legal woes: RHOSLC’s Jen Shah named as ‘suspect with greater culpability’ by US attorney in alleged $5m telemarketing scam (Pictured outside a federal courthouse in March this year)
Two members of the group have already been sentenced to 78 months and 60 months respectively in the case, per the report.
The US Attorney says that the ‘Tier A’ suspect were ‘responsible for orchestrating the broader scheme’ and named Shah specifically as someone who ‘obtained leads directly from lead sources and provided them to, among others, coaching sales floors operated in Utah and Nevada.’
Shah and her assistant Stuart Smith who has also been placed in the tier, are additionally accused of ‘owning and operating’ a sales floor in Manhattan that was part of the alleged telemarketing scheme.
The Bravo reality star was arrested in late March for allegedly targeting ‘vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people’ out of money, and she plead not guilty and was subsequently released on strict conditions.
Drama: The star is seen teary-eyed on an episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
She is now awaiting a fraud trial where she could face up to 30 years jail time if found guilty over her alleged involvement in a $5M telemarketing scheme.
Last month, Shah asked a judge to toss out the criminal charges against her, complaining of ‘trickery’ by law enforcement officers and claims she involuntarily waived her Miranda rights after being arrested, PageSix reported.
Shah claims she signed a document waiving her Miranda rights without knowing what it was because her contact lenses weren’t working properly at the time.
‘My contact lenses, which were in my eyes, were dry, and I did not have my reading glasses, so my vision was blurry and I was unable to read the paper in front of me,’ she attested in an affidavit, according to Page Six.
Her attorneys argue that law enforcement had employed ‘deception and trickery calculated to overpower her will.’
Family: Shah’s husband Sharieff, a football coach at the University of Utah, regularly appears by her side on RHOSLC and the couple has two sons Omar, 17, and Sharrieff Jr., 26
The lawyers add that there are ‘multiple flaws in the theory of this case [and] the investigation.’
Shah pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering on April 2. She is free on $1 million bond.
The indictment alleges that, starting in 2012, she and her assistant Stuart Smith sold online business services to their victims, many of whom were elderly and did not own a computer.
Prosecutors claim the pair then sold the names to other telemarketers who sold the victims more products.
Castmate: Co-star Whitney Rose threw some light shade at Shah when she touched down in LA on Friday
If the motion to dismiss the case isn’t granted, her lawyers want a judge to prevent the statements she made after waiving her Miranda rights from being used against her at trial, UsWeekly reported.
Co-star Whitney Rose offered a bit of insight when she touched down in LA on Friday.
Asked how Jen is while fetching her luggage: Whitney shrugged and said ‘She’s alive and well!’
Shrug: Asked how Jen is, Whitney shrugged and said ‘She’s alive and well!’