Man behind $35M Ponzi scheme that reportedly targeted Travis Kelce gets 11 years
A federal judge in St. Louis sentenced a man Tuesday to 11 years in prison for running a $35 million Ponzi scheme that prosecutors say targeted investors in Missouri. Siddharth Jawahar, 38, was also ordered to pay $31.35 million in restitution.
Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
From about July 2016 through December 2023, Jawahar took in more than $35 million from investors but only invested around $10 million, the release said.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was named as a victim by prosecutors in court, TMZ and local outlets reported, according to Nexstar’s KTVI. KTVI said it could not independently verify the extent of Kelce’s investment, his possible connection with the scheme, or how much money he may have lost.
Kelce and other professional athletes had invested in a ventures fund created by Swiftarc, Forbes had reported in 2021.
Jawahar began investing client funds in Philip Morris Pakistan, an overseas tobacco company, in 2015, according to the news release. At some point, 99% of client funds were consolidated into PMP.
When PMP’s value declined, Jawahar did not tell investors and falsely claimed they were making profits, the release said. He falsely led investors to believe he had invested their money in specific companies, but he never made the promised investments.
Investigators say Jawahar used money from new investors to repay older investors and to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included travel on private jets, stays at luxury hotels, a luxury apartment in Austin and New York City, memberships at multiple private clubs across the country, spending sprees at clothing stores and expensive outings at fancy restaurants, said the U.S. Department of Justice via the news release.
Jawahar is also accused of trying to coach at least one victim into giving a favorable statement to the FBI, lying about his immigration status and finances, and trying to get his sister to remotely wipe his iPhone to hide evidence.
