Jen Shah's Assistant Stuart Smith Changes Plea to Guilty in Telemarketing Scheme Case

Jen Shah's assistant, Stuart Smith, has changed his plea to guilty after he and the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City were arrested in March.

By Cydney Contreras Nov 20, 2021 3:44 PMTags
Watch: Jen Shah's Legal Drama Is a Reality Show in Itself

Jen Shah's assistant, Stuart Smith, has changed his plea to guilty.

A clerk in Judge Sidney H. Stein's office confirms to E! News that Smith changed his plea during a hearing on Friday, Nov. 19. In March, the reality star was previously arrested for his alleged involvement in a telemarketing scheme.

According to People, Smith read a written statement during the hearing in which he said, "I knowingly and intentionally discussed and engaged with other individuals to develop a plan or operation to obtain money by false representation by offering and inducing individuals, many of whom were over 50 years of age or older, to provide money to entities that I and others were involved with."

Smith added that he later found out "that these telemarketing companies were misleading customers of those entities by selling individuals, many of them who were older than 50 years of age, information that purported to be services to enhance their business opportunities." 

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Smith's sentencing was scheduled for March. He faces up to 70 years in prison for the charges.

E! News reached out to Smith's lawyer for comment and did not hear back.

Chad Kirkland/Bravo; Bravo

Following their arrest on March 31, Smith and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star pleaded not guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstructing an official proceeding. 

Shah was subsequently released on $1 million bail and has maintained her innocence.

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At the time of her arrest, Shah's attorneys said in a statement, "Jennifer Shah is a wife, mother, and lifelong resident of the Salt Lake City area. She maintains her innocence of these charges, and is eager to defend herself in a court of law. She puts her faith in the American legal system. Because of the ongoing legal proceedings, we ask that you respect her privacy, and understand she will not provide any further comments."

In March, a source told E! News, "The other Housewives are just finding out about this. Many of them had questions about Jen's business, but no one saw these arrests coming."

Now, fans of the Bravo series are seeing how little the housewives really knew as the arrests play out on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.

(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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