If there's one thing Bravo stars are going to do, it's bring the drama.
However, no one could've predicted that Real Housewives of Salt Lake City's Jen Shah, 47, would be taken into police custody for allegedly running a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme.
On Tuesday, March 30, law enforcement arrested the reality TV personality and her assistant, Stuart Smith, 43. Per the U.S. Attorney Office for the Southern District of New York, they are both facing two charges each—conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In a press release, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss claimed the Bravolebrity and her assistant "allegedly generated and sold 'lead lists' of innocent individuals for other members of their scheme to repeatedly scam" from 2012 until March 2021.
The Manhattan U.S. Attorney added that they, along with other unidentified co-conspirators, were "motivated by greed, to steal victims' money," who were allegedly over the age of 55.
According to a source familiar with both Jen and Stuart's business dealings, authorities went to RHOSLC co-star Heather Gay's Beauty Lab looking for Jen before they showed up on set of the Bravo reality series.
As the insider put it, "They tried everywhere they thought she might be."
Another source tells E! News that as the events were unfolding in real-time, cameras were rolling, saying, "A crew with RHOSLC was outside the courtroom capturing it all for the show. The bulk of the crew is with the rest of the cast in Colorado."
A third source connected to the cast explains they learned about Jen's legal scandal just like everyone else.
"The other Housewives are just finding out about this," the third insider shares. "Many of them had questions about Jen's business, but no one saw these arrests coming."
After the 47-year-old star made headlines, many Bravolebrities reacted to the news, including fellow Real Housewives Kyle Richards and Teddi Mellencamp. Per a screengrab shared by the Instagram account, Comments by Bravo, the duo appeared to be invested in the drama.
Reporter John Franchi tweeted a photo of Jen leaving the courthouse, writing, "Our first look at Jen Shah."
"Is that you Teddi Mellencamp with the [microphone emoji]?" Kyle asked, in reference to a female reporter featured in the photo with Jen, to which Teddi responded, "I wish it was. Maybe I can report from the trial."
"The way we have been reporting back and forth today I am thinking maybe we should just head over there," Kyle commented, with Teddi adding, "I just booked the tickets. Pack your bags we are headed to SLC."
They originally conversed on the Queens of Bravo Instagram, who re-posted John's tweet.
Moreover, Summer House's Kyle Cooke weighed in on Jen's controversy and discussed business operations.
"So...she does retargeting for DTC e-commerce companies looking to improve CAC and LTV, but her marketing agency doesnt have a website and she can't offer up any clients / references," he wrote on Twitter under a thread about the RHOSLC star. "I checked out her IG link 2 months ago and it led nowhere lol."
If convicted, Jen and Stuart could each face up to 50 years in prison. At this time, they have not entered a plea. Moreover, neither Jen and Stuart, along with the RHOSLC cast, have publicly addressed the charges.
E! News has reached out to their teams for comment, however, we have yet to receive a response.
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)