Jen Shah has skipped the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City season three reunion under legal advice.
The reality star is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in July – her latest hearing was recently pushed back to January.
Much of the third series, which is currently airing on Bravo and also stars Whitney Rose, Lisa Barlow, Heather Gay and Meredith Marks, has been concerning her legal battles.
The 39-year-old’s future on RHOSLC was left in doubt over her guilty plea and she has now confirmed that she will not be taking part in the reunion episodes.
Taking to Instagram, she shared a statement which read: ‘On September 14, 2022, I was informed by Bravo executives that I was not invited to attend the season 3 reunion.
‘I was disappointed because I would have no venue to confront inaccuracies and address my storyline with cast members.
Jen Shah has been on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City since the beginning (Picture: Bravo)
‘Out of nowhere, on November 29, two and a half weeks ago, I was invited to attend. I was elated to learn I would now have a voice at reunion.
‘I was clear with Bravo that out of respect for the courts and a standing judicial order, I would not be in a position to discuss anything related to my legal case or sentencing. Bravo found this unsatisfactory and said they expected to discuss this “storyline”.’
She added: ’That expectation has no regard for me or my family’s wellbeing; so under legal advice, I will not be attending reunion.
‘I need to focus on the most important thing in my life – my family [sic].’
She confirmed her stance on the reunion in a statement (Picture: Instagram)
It was alleged that Shah and her former assistant, Stuart Smith, had been running a US-wide fraud scheme since 2012, selling services such as website designs that claimed to make the management of victims’ businesses more profitable or efficient, according to prosecutors.
The pair were also alleged to have offered to sell on the personal information of victims to other members in a ‘fraud ring’, with many of those targeted being over 55 years of age.
In July, Shah changed her plea to guilty after being charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing.
According to reports, she agreed to forfeit $6.5million and to pay restitution up to $9.5million.
Shah”s sentencing was pushed back to January (Picture: Bravo)
Speaking to Judge Sidney Stein, she confirmed that she was changing her plea to guilty to ‘wire fraud, offering services with little to no value.’
She added: ’We used interstate telephones and emails. I knew many of the purchasers were over the age of 55. I am so sorry.’
Andy Cohen addressed her RHOSLC future at BravoCon in October, suggesting that her relationship with the show has come to an end after the move.
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When questioned on why Shah was not in attendance at the event, he responded: ‘Once we wrapped the season, she plead guilty.
‘I think that was kind of unfortunately the end of the engagement there.
‘I hope to sit down with her and talk to her at some point, on camera, because I have a lot of questions for her.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Bravo for a comment.
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Season 3 is airing now.
