While the ongoing judicial processes have seen Jen Shah from RHOSLC repeatedly declare her innocence, her first assistant Stuart Smith has had his sentence altered.
Jen Shah’s aide Stuart Smith has admitted guilt on all counts stemming from his participation in a large-scale telemarketing operation.
On November 6, Smith, 43, appeared in court before Judge Sidney H. Stein and altered his plea from not guilty to guilty.
Alongside the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star, he had previously adamantly denied culpability.
Smith was detained in March on suspicion of telemarketing-related wire fraud. At least twelve people over the age of 55 were among his targets.
He was also accused of hindering an official investigation and money laundering.
Smith guilty to three offences: conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and hindering an official investigation.
Stuart Smith’s sentence was amended in 2021, however despite being slated for sentencing in March of that year, he has not yet been given a prison term.
It is assumed that the prosecution put off his sentencing until after Jen’s so they could decide on an acceptable punishment for him.
Shah was taken into custody and charged simultaneously. Along with his supervisor, 48-year-old Shah was charged. During an accusation in April, both pled not guilty, and Shah continues to insist on her innocence.
Stuart Smith has been given bail until his punishment, which Judge Stein has set on March 3, 2022. The judge stated that a total of 70 years in prison might be imposed for all three offences.
The court record states that people charged similarly and participating in the same telemarketing scheme received penalties ranging from 5 to 7 years.
At his hearing, Smith admitted to being a part of numerous criminal acts involving telemarketing businesses he founded or worked for between 2008 and 2021.
He admitted, “I deliberately and knowingly worked with other people to develop a plan or strategy to obtain money through dishonest means. This was accomplished by convincing and luring numerous people—the majority of whom were 50 years of age or older—to donate money to organisations with which I and my friends were affiliated.
Stuart Smith’s discovery that telemarketing firms were misleading customers by peddling phoney services that purportedly improved their business chances was made clear in his punishment. The majority of these clients were above 50.
He believed that the offered services were worthless and offered no advantages to the client.
Shah and Smith were detained earlier in 2021 for allegedly using others to carry out a national telemarketing operation from 2012 to March of this year.
According to the prosecutors, they offered phoney business services and duped hundreds of victims. A press announcement was issued to announce this fact.
Prosecutors claim that Shah and Smith collaborated to sell lists of potential victims, or “leads,” to telemarketing businesses.
These businesses would then make an effort to sell the individuals on the list commercial services. Shah and Smith allegedly received a cut of the profits from this fraudulent scam.
Shah and Smith were both identified as “Tier A” defendants in a fraud case in a court filing from July. According to the affidavit, they were the ones to set up the plan and supply the leads that kept the telemarketing businesses operating.
Gizelle Bryant from The Real Housewives of Potomac and Shah appeared on a Bravo Instagram Live programme titled “Spilling Iced Tea” in September 2021. They talked about Shah’s current legal problems during the episode.
“I think what people don’t understand is that in America, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” the actress remarked. Since I’m innocent, I think that everyone in my corner and near to me is also being tested.
Shah’s admission of innocence may be seen in the third season promo for the Bravo reality series. She claims Stuart Smith, her former assistant, misled her over their dubious telemarketing business venture. It’s important to note that Shah and Smith have both entered guilty pleas.
Jen claims that she has known Stuart for almost ten years. On the other hand, not much is known about her first assistant.
Jen Shah revealed new information regarding her relationship with Stuart Smith, her first assistant, in episode 13 of Season 2’s RHOSLC After Show.
They connected while she was consulting for the business where he was employed.
Shah alleged, “I got played by Stuart Smith, and if it weren’t for Stuart, I wouldn’t be in this thing at all.”
Stuart Smith is referred to on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City as Jen Shah’s “first assistant.” In Season 1, he didn’t have much screen time, but in Season 2, he was in practically all of Jen’s scenes.
Shah claimed on a RHOSLC After Show episode that she and Smith met while Shah was working as a consultant for a company.
Jen said that throughout their years of friendship, she had often assisted Stuart in keeping his work.
Evidently, anytime he encountered a challenge, she would step in and persuade others that he was doing with good motives. She took him with her as her assistant when she quit her job.
The reality personality admitted that, on occasion, she might rely more on Stuart than on Sharrieff Shah, also known as Coach, her spouse.