Travis Kelce Named Victim in $35M Ponzi Scheme as Operator Sentenced
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was named as a victim in a $35 million Ponzi scheme during a federal court hearing where the scheme’s operator received an 11-year prison sentence. Federal prosecutors disclosed the NFL star’s involvement as 38-year-old Siddharth Jawahar was sentenced in the US District Court in St. Louis.
Swiftarc Capital Fraud Exposed After Years of Hidden Losses
Jawahar pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January and was ordered to pay $31.35 million in restitution. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Jawahar ran Swiftarc Capital LLC, a Texas-based investment company that began taking money from investors in 2015.
Federal investigators found that Jawahar placed funds into a single investment that drastically dropped in value. Instead of notifying investors of the losses, he used money from new investors to repay earlier participants and financed an extravagant lifestyle featuring private jets, luxury living, and private club memberships. Out of more than $35 million collected, Jawahar invested only about $10 million between July 2016 and December 2023.
Television station KMOV reported that the prosecutor brought up Kelce’s name during court proceedings without providing further comment. The exact timing and financial scope of Kelce’s investment remain unconfirmed.
Kelce, 36, is not the sole professional athlete tied to the financial operation. Financial disclosures and prior reports indicate that NBA players Gary Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Mason Plumlee also deployed capital into Swiftarc ventures. Jawahar co-founded Swiftarc Ventures Labs Fund, which previously attracted investments from several high-earning athletes before federal authorities uncovered the multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.
