Jen Shah’s assistant Stuart Smith has pleaded guilty to the charges against him regarding his involvement in a nationwide telemarketing scheme.
After previously pleading not guilty alongside theReal Housewives of Salt Lake Citystar, Smith, 43, changed his plea to guilty during a Friday appearance before Southern District of New York Judge Sidney H. Stein.
Smithwas arrested and chargedin March with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing — through which he allegedly victimized 10 or more persons over the age of 55 — one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.
His boss, Shah, 48, was arrested and charged at the same time. The twopleaded not guiltyduring an arraignment in April, and Shah has continued tomaintain her innocence.
Stein set Smith’s sentencing for March 3rd and released him on bail in the meantime. The judge also noted that the maximum combined sentence for the three charges is 70 years in prison.
Gabe Ginsberg/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Alberto Reyes/Shutterstock
During his hearing, Smith read out a statement admitting to his crimes relating to various telemarketing companies he said he either helped create or worked for between 2008 and 2021.
“The services sold were of no value and of no real benefit to the customer,” he said.
A lawyer for Smith did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Jen Shah.Jen Shah/Instagram
In apress releaseannouncing Shah and Smith’s arrests earlier this year, prosecutors alleged they carried out a nationwide telemarketing scheme with the help of others between 2012 and March of this year. They were accused of having “defrauded hundreds of victims” with purported business services.
Prosecutors further claimed that Shah and Smith’s scheme was a “coordinated effort to traffic in lists of potential victims,” referred to as “leads.” From there, they allegedly sold those leads to telemarketing companies that would attempt to sell business services to the targeted individuals. Both “received as profit a share of the fraudulent revenue per the terms of their agreement with those participants,” according to the indictment.
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In September, Shah appeared alongsideThe Real Housewives of Potomac’sGizelle Bryanton Bravo’s “Spilling Iced Tea” Instagram Live and addressed her ongoing legal woes.
“I think what people don’t understand is, here in America, you’re innocent until proven guilty. I’m innocent,” she said. “And I believe that this is not just my test, this is everybody’s test close to me and in my corner.”
source: people.com
