The show must go on! Jen Shah’s March arrest was captured on camera for season 2 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. However, what shocked her costar Meredith Marks the most was that Jen let cameras continue to roll during her legal drama.
“I can’t fathom any attorney advising that she should have [kept filming], which is why I was so surprised. I can understand why she might want to because she might want to get her story out there or profess her innocence or whatever it may be,” Meredith, 49, told Us Weekly on the Friday, September 10, episode of the “Getting Real with the Housewives” podcast. “She may want to have a voice. I just can’t get my head around any lawyer under the sun ever advising a client in the same circumstances.”
In March, Jen, 47, and her assistant were arrested and accused of allegedly defrauding hundreds of people in a nationwide telemarketing scheme.
“Every single one of the ladies, including me … was DM’d information about Jen. So, knowing that and seeing how I could never understand what she did after all the questions that were asked, not just by me, but by the general public, and not understanding what any of these marketing companies were marketing or whatever. Yes, my eyebrows were raised,” the jewelry designer explained to Us. “I didn’t understand what was going on. Did I think it was something illegal? No. Did I think it was possible? Sure. I mean, anything’s possible, but things didn’t add up for me and that was problematic.”
In April, Jen pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Shortly after, she filed a motion asking the court to dismiss all charges on the grounds of “legal and factual insufficiency” and suppression of evidence.
The judge denied that motion in August, and her trial is now scheduled to begin in March 2022.
“Innocent until proven guilty at the end of the day,” Meredith told Us. “My friendship with Jen is a different standard, it’s not held to legal standards, but in terms of a crime, it is innocent till proven guilty and you know, the court of friendships a little bit different.”
Season 2 of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City premieres on Bravo Sunday, September 12, at 9 p.m. ET.