Jen Shah's Cousin Creates $2.5 Million GoFundMe and Insists the Real Housewife Is Innocent of Fraud

On Sunday, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah’s cousin Danny Filipe reportedly organized a GoFundMe campaign for millions in her name. It was scrubbed from the internet almost immediately, however, because it violated GoFundMe’s terms of service.

Earlier this year, Shah was arrested by the feds on charges of money laundering and fraud, with the government claiming in court that the one-season wonder had used her telemarketing company as the base of operations for this allegedly illicit activity. According to The Sun, which says it verified the GoFundMe’s legitimacy, the goal was set at a lofty $2.5 million, for which Filipe intended to help his cousin shoulder the burden of her mounting legal fees. Here’s what he had to say:

I created this Go Fund Me Campaign to help my loving cousin Jennifer Shah raise $2.5 million dollars for her legal fees. Each year in the United States, more than 10,000 people are falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. This statistic demonstrates the government makes painful mistakes. Simply because you are charged with a crime, does NOT mean you are automatically guilty. On March 30^th, lawyers from the Southern District of New York brought extremely serious allegations against my cousin. On April 2^nd, Jen proclaimed her innocence by entering a plea of “not guilty,” and hired an experienced team of New York lawyers that have begun aggressively defending her and fighting the government’s case.

“It’s what we do as a family, stick together. Her plea was not guilty. She is innocent. Enough said,” Filipe said in an interview with The Sun. He claimed that “in seven weeks, Jen and her family have spent over $138,000 in legal fees and costs.”

The GoFundMe page also extrapolated on the exorbitant fundraising goal:

“Jen needs $2.5 million dollars because:1) there are over 1 million documents in this case that must be immediately reviewed and analyzed by Jen’s lawyers before her case goes to trial in October 2021. 2) the Southern District of New York is the most expensive jurisdiction in the country to defend a lawsuit, and to hire competent legal counsel. 3) Jen has to have the economic wherewithal to fight the government’s lawyers, who have an open checkbook and can spend millions of dollars prosecuting this case.

While reps for GoFundMe did not elaborate to The Sun on which clause in the terms of service the fundraising violated, there seems to be one specific contender. Under Section A of Prohibited Conduct, subsection 9 says donations must not be used “for the legal defense of alleged crimes associated with […] financial crimes or crimes of deception.”

While I do not support (allegedly) de-frauding the elderly, nobody should spend a potential 30 years in prison for anything. Best of luck to all!

I’d love to take bets on whether the latest Bennifer news is a crock of shit!

According to People, sources “close” to the pair claim “they are very happy together,” and that this is “not a casual relationship,” despite the fact it’s been what… a few weeks? The same source says they “want it to be long-lasting,” and that they have already begun to “talk about” their future. I mean, who doesn’t? I’m thinking about the future right now while I make a mental list of what I possibly have to make for dinner.

I’ll begin the betting at exactly one penny, as that’s all I have on hand right now.

LOL! I’m laughing. Is anyone else laughing?

There’s a lot happening with this outfit..

Lance Bass and that one guy are going to be fathers. [People]
Serena Williams sent a message of support to Naomi Osaka. [ET]
Huh. [People]
Is Travis Barker’s Instagram behavior “shady”? You decide! [Us Weekly]
If I speak… [Just Jared]