Jen Shah’s assistant changes plea to guilty in telemarketing scam case

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Jen Shah’s assistant Stuart Smith has pleaded guilty to three charges brought against him for his role in a telemarketing scheme that targeted hundreds of elderly people nationwide.

Smith originally pleaded not guilty to the charges, but changed his plea to guilty during a Friday court appearance before Southern District of New York Judge Sidney H. Stein, according to People.

He has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.

“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 reportedly said during his most recent hearing, according to People.

He added that he “became aware 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.

“The services sold were of no value and of no real benefit to the customer.”

The judge set Smith’s sentencing for March 3, 2022, and he was released on bail in the meantime. Smith is facing a maximum combined sentence of 70 years in prison for the three charges.

The “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star and Smith, were arrested in March on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being busted for allegedly running a telemarketing scam in which victims, many of them senior citizens, were pushed to invest in questionable online projects and fake business services.

Shah, 47, has maintained her innocence, showing up to her first court appearance wearing a glitzy ensemble in August.

Page Six previously reported that Bravo would continue to film as Shah dealt with her legal struggles.

“Bravo knows full well that viewers are following every detail of this case and will continue to do so as it progresses, so producers plan to follow it just as closely and use whatever footage they legally can,” an insider told us in April.

And in Season 2 of “RHOSLC,” Shah addressed her legal woes, breaking down into tears as she admitted she was “f–king scared” of going to prison.

She also had it out with co-star Meredith Marks, saying she may have had something to do with her arrest.

“I swear to God, if you have anything to do with the bulls–t charges against me, Meredith, you’re f–king disgusting,” Shah told Marks at the time.

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