Prosecutors Deny Police Tricked 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' Star Jen Shah Into Talking Following Arrest
July 8 2021, Published 5:19 p.m. ET
Prosecutors are fighting Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah’s attempt to have her criminal charges dismissed.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, the government is asking the judge presiding over Shah’s fraud case to deny her recent motion, in which she accused police of tricking her into giving them information.
As we've previously reported, Shah was arrested by the feds on March 30. The reality star was on her way to shoot the Bravo show when agents pulled over her car and took her into custody.
Prosecutors accuse Shah and her personal assistant Stuart Smith of playing a key role in a long-running telemarketing scheme. Both are facing one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In court documents, the government says the two reportedly helped comply lists of people who the companies then allegedly scammed. Shah and Stuart are accused of received kickbacks as part of the scam.
The government says hundreds of people were defrauded with a majority of them elderly. The RHOSLC star denies the allegations and entered a plea of not guilty. She is facing 50 years in prison if convicted.
In a recent motion, Shah demanded all entire case against her be dismissed. She claims the police coerced her into making statements following her arrest. Shah also says the allegations in the indictment are extremely vague.
Her lawyer said prosecutors presented a “bare-bones wire fraud and conspiracy theory that does not adequately allege either the required elements of intent to defraud.”
Shah also has problems with the government not handing over the names of her alleged victims. The reality star is also demanding statements she made to a detective after her arrest be suppressed.
She says the officer used deceptive tactics to get her to talk. Shah claims she was in a vulnerable emotional state in the hours before her arrest.
By the time she got to the station for questioning, she claims to have believed they accidentally arrested the wrong person.
She also says while the officer handed her a paper explaining her Miranda rights, she didn’t have her contact lenses in at the time. In newly filed documents, the prosecutors scoff at Shah’s claim the indictment is vague.
They say they handed over substantial discovery. Prosecutors say Shah was a sophisticated criminal and played a major role in the enterprise.
They say she was responsible for finding the victims and then selling their information to the telemarketing companies. In regard to Shah’s request for her statements to be suppressed, the government says the officer who questioned her did not make trick her into talking.
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In court documents, the government tells the court Shah is “wrong” when she says she “did not voluntarily waive her Miranda rights.” They claim Shah signed the waiver form and it’s all on video.
Prosecutors also laugh at Shah’s story involving her contact lenses. “The defendant’s blurry contact lens was at most an irritant, but to the extent, it was causing her any physical pain or discomfort, the agents helped her fix it before questioning her,” they write.
They are asking the court to allow the criminal case to move forward.
