ST. LOUIS (AP) — Siddharth Jawahar, the founder of a Texas-based investment company, has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison due to his involvement in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 64 victims, including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone handed down the sentence on Tuesday, along with a restitution order for Jawahar to pay $31.35 million to the victims of the fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Jawahar operated his Ponzi scheme through his company, Swiftarc Capital LLC, from July 2016 until December 2023. During this time, he raised more than $35 million from investors but only allocated approximately $10 million towards actual investments. Instead, he misappropriated the funds, using money from new investors to fulfill obligations to earlier investors and to sustain a lavish lifestyle characterized by luxury apartments in New York City and Austin, Texas, along with private jet travel and extravagant outings.
Local news station KMOV-TV reported that while prosecutors confirmed Kelce was among the victims, further details regarding his involvement were not disclosed. A 2021 Forbes article indicated that Kelce had invested in one of the funds managed by Jawahar’s company, Swiftarc. Robert Patrick, a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, stated that there were a total of 64 victims in the case but refrained from discussing specifics related to Kelce. Requests for comments directed to Kelce's representatives went unanswered.
Jawahar was indicted by a grand jury in 2023 and subsequently pleaded guilty in January to three counts of wire fraud. Court documents reveal that Jawahar, originally from India, had been living in the United States without legal status since 2005. Prosecutors also allege that following his indictment, he attempted to influence a victim’s testimony to the FBI, lied about his immigration status, and tried to have a relative remotely wipe his iPhone to destroy evidence related to the case.
This case underscores the serious consequences associated with fraudulent investment practices, particularly in Ponzi schemes that exploit investors’ trust. The significant sentence and restitution order reflect the severity of the crime and the impact on the victims, including high-profile individuals like Kelce.
