Jen Shah’s legal troubles continue. The former Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star’s fraud case lawyer claims she owes her thousands of dollars in legal fees.
According to a New York federal court filing obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, April 7, attorney Priya Chaudhry states that she and her law firm “filed a motion to withdraw as counsel” on March 24 “based on Ms. Shah’s unpaid fees and expenses.” In total, Chaudhry alleges that Shah, 49, owes $124,422.95 — $50 thousand in unpaid fees and $74,422.95 in unpaid expenses.
After initially denying charges made against her, the Bravo star pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in New York City in July 2022. “In 2012 to March 2021 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere I agreed with others to commit wire fraud,” Shah read from a prepared statement in court. “I knew this was wrong. I knew many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.”
Chaudhry weighed in on the reality star’s case in a statement to Us Weekly not long after her guilty plea. “Ms. Shah is a good woman who crossed a line,” the attorney said at the time. “She accepts full responsibility for her actions and deeply apologizes to all who have been harmed. Ms. Shah is also sorry for disappointing her husband, children, family, friends, and supporters. Jen pled guilty because she wants to pay her debt to society and put this ordeal behind her and her family.”
Shah — who shares sons Sharrieff Jr., 29, and Omar, 19, with husband Sharrieff Shah — was later sentenced to serve 6.5 years behind bars and reported to prison on February 17.
Her legal woes began in March 2021 after she and her former assistant, Stuart Smith, were arrested in connection to a nationwide telemarketing scheme that targeted victims 55 and older. Smith, for his part, changed his plea to guilty in November of that year. “He pleaded guilty to three counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice,” attorney Ronald Richards — a former NBC legal analyst unaffiliated with the case — told Us at the time.
Fans witnessed Shah’s arrest on season 2 of RHOSLC, and she continued to claim her innocence throughout the show’s third season. Season 3 concluded with coverage of the Utah native’s guilty plea.
Having shown support for her costar over the years, Heather Gay exclusively told Us where she stood with Shah following her sentencing. “I was labeled ride-or-die because I had a friend that was looking at me and telling me she was innocent,” the Bad Mormon author said in an interview published on February 6. “Everything changed for me when she plead guilty.”
She continued: “Now my focus is on the victims and her family and the collateral damage of this crime that she perpetuated and admitted to perpetuating.”
The show’s executive producer, Andy Cohen, shared his thoughts on Shah’s prison sentence on his SiriusXM show Radio Andy the month prior. “Listen, any old person or anyone who just doesn’t really understand what’s going on with the internet or how many scams are going on, people are susceptible to stuff like this,” he said, adding, “If you read the Victim Impact report, it was pretty stunning.”
Less than two months after she stated her prison stay, Shah’s manager, Chris Giovanni, revealed on Thursday, April 6, that she is staging a Real Housewives-inspired play with her fellow inmates, aptly titled The Real Housewives of Bryan after the FPC Bryan prison in Texas. Noting that they play’s personalities will be “cranked up to 11,” Giovanni told TMZ that the production is still in its “early phases,” as the former Housewife is helping some prisoners learn how to read and write.
She’s also been busy with a prison diary, publishing pieces via her website.
