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RHOSLC’s Monica Says Jen Asked Her to Join Fraud Scheme When She Was Her ‘Charity Work’ Assistant
Monica Garcia came in hot during her debut season of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, revealing that she was not only Jen Shah’s temporary assistant, but later became a federal witness against the now-imprisoned reality star. Monica appeared on Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday, October 18, and dished out more tea about Jen’s illegal scheme.
“I feel like I need to clarify. Assistant is a very – you know, I say charity work,” she told Andy Cohen after he asked her how she found out Jen’s fraud activity. “She told me how her scheme works and she asked me to be a part of it.”
Andy, 55, and second chair guest Heather McMahan literally dropped their jaws at the news before Monica, 40, admitted how she responded to Jen’s offer. “I said absolutely not and that’s when I reached out to my friend in the Secret Service,” she explained. “I do want to make it clear that I’m not the one who opened a case against her by talking to a friend. That was open for like, 10 years.”
During her oncamera introduction to Bravo fans during the RHOSLC season 4 premiere, Monica alluded that Jen, 50, nudged her to join her wire fraud scheme.
“So, Jen had fired her assistant and I stepped in to help her. One night Jen asked me, ‘Do you wanna be rich? Do you wanna make $600,000 a year? All you have to do is put this, this, and this in your name,’” Monica dished during a confessional. “I remember being so weirded out, like, ‘Wait, what?’ It was very bizarre, and I have a friend in the Secret Service, and I called him. And he said, ‘Get the f–ck away from Jen Shah, she’s going to prison.’ And she was arrested two months later. And that is how I became a witness with the federal government in her trial.”
In January, the Salt Lake City native was sentenced to 78 months in prison after being found guilty of wire fraud. Though she initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, Jen changed her plea to guilty in July 2022, admitting she “agreed” to committing the crimes from 2012 to March 2021.
During Monica’s chat with Andy at The Clubhouse, she revealed that she never got a reaction out of Jen because she couldn’t have contact with her after becoming a witness. As for the “Shah Squad,” though, Monica claimed they are “furious” that she joined the Housewives cast.
Before getting out of the hot seat, the Brea Baby founder sent a shady message to Jen, saying, “I hope you heal what is very broken inside.”
