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Shah, age 48, of Utah, appeared in a federal courtroom in Manhattan on Monday, July 11, where she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing.
Federal prosecutors said between 2012 and March 2021, Shah trafficked “lead lists” of potential victims that her co-conspirators used to convince victims to pay thousands of dollars for “coaching” and “business services.”
Many of the victims were over the age of 55 and had previously made an initial investment to create an online business with other participants in the scheme, according to prosecutors.
Shah sold the leads to other participants knowing that victims would be defrauded and that they were lied to about how much money they would earn after buying the services, prosecutors said.
“These victims were sold false promises of financial security but instead Shah and her co-conspirators defrauded them out of their savings and left them with nothing to show for it,” said US Attorney Damian Williams.
Many of the “business opportunity” products were sold out of Shah’s Manhattan-based sales floor that she began operating in 2017, according to prosecutors.
Certain operations for the Manhattan sales floor were later moved to Kosovo in an effort to avoid law enforcement and regulatory scrutiny, investigators said.
Shah reportedly went to great lengths to hide her involvement in the scheme, using third parties’ names to incorporate her business entities and using encrypted messaging applications to communicate with other participants.
She also made numerous cash withdrawals that were structured to avoid transaction reporting requirements, prosecutors said.
Besides New Jersey, victims were found in New York, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
Shah was arrested in 2021 and originally pleaded not guilty, but finally copped to the charge Monday, just one week before she was scheduled to stand trial on July 18.
“I did this by knowingly providing customer names to people who were marketing business services that had little or no value,” Shah told the judge. “I knew this was wrong. I know many people were harmed and I am so sorry.”
As part of her plea deal, she faces between 11 and 14 years in prison when she’s sentenced Nov. 28.
She also agreed to forfeit $6.5 million and to pay up to $9.5 million in restitution.
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