Travis Kelce falls victim to $35 million Ponzi scheme run by illegal immigrant from India

Per the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Siddharth Jawahar, an Indian national, defrauded investors of more than $35 million. He was sentenced on Tuesday to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty in January to three counts of wire fraud.

Per the New York Post, Kelce’s losses in the scheme were not disclosed, and prosecutors did not expand on the football star’s connection to the case.

Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. He began investing client funds ina. single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP) in 2015, and eventually, 99 percent of client funds were consolidated into PMP.

When PMP’s value declined, prosecutors said Jawahar lied to investors and claimed that they were making profits. He was also said to have told investors that he invested their money in specific companies, but did not. He took in over $35 million between July 2016 and December 2023, but invested only around $10 million.

The funds were instead used to repay older investors and fund his extravagant lifestyle, including on private jets, luxury hotel stays, luxury apartments across the US, private club memberships, and clothing.

Following his indictment, Jawahar attempted to obstruct justice by coaching a victim into giving a favorable statement to the FBI, lying about his immigration status, and attempting to get his sister to remotely wipe his iPhone.