Jen Shah is speaking out about what landed her in prison — and denying the claim that she intentionally targeted elderly people.
“I would like to clear up this false narrative that I targeted the elderly,” the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City alum, 52, told People in an interview published Thursday, April 2. “I never, ever targeted the elderly.”
Shah acknowledged that older individuals were among those affected by her actions, but she denied specifically seeking them out.
“In the indictment, the government stated that if there are 10 customers over the age of 55, then it becomes elderly enhancement, which would add more time to my sentence,” she claimed. “So that became the soundbite. ‘Jen Shah targeted the elderly. She stole from the elderly.’ And that’s not true.”
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The former Bravo star further alleged that she never had any direct contact with victims, telling the outlet, “The companies I worked for, it was a big deal to provide fulfillment. What happened was down the line, people that I worked with — my codefendant [Stuart Smith] — were working with a lot of other people. And so, once that initial fulfillment was happening, things were happening beyond the point of sale with that customer I didn’t know about.”
Shah was arrested in March 2021 and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a telemarketing scheme. She initially pleaded not guilty but later changed her plea. As part of her plea deal, the U.S. Attorney’s office agreed to drop the money laundering charge.
In January 2023, Shah was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, but after multiple sentence reductions, she was released in December 2025 after serving a total of two years and nine months.
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Speaking to People, Shah claimed that she didn’t know there had been victims directly connected to her business until the prosecution turned over their discovery in 2022 before the trial began.
“I saw for the first time that there were people who were hurt; that there were actual victims as a result of this conspiracy,” she claimed, noting that learning about the victims is what made her decide to change her plea. “I had never seen anything with my own eyes. That changed things for me.”
She reiterated that she never spoke with anyone herself, saying, “I never had contact with any of these customers. I never had the intention. I never sought out or planned or constructed anything to target the elderly.”
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While Shah denies intentionally going after elderly customers with her business, the government’s case included several victim impact statements from people in their 60s and 70s who lost tens of thousands of dollars. One victim, age 77, specifically called out what the telemarketing scheme had done to “senior citizens.”
In her interview, Shah claimed that she was just following orders without knowing exactly what she was doing.
“I thought I was doing the right thing for the majority of the time, working under people who were running these companies,” she told People. “I should have been diligent and not so trusting.”
