Prosecutors in Missouri have identified Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce as a victim in a $35 million fraud scheme involving a company named, ironically, Swiftarc Capital LLC.
The Chiefs star and husband of singer Taylor Swift was named in court on Tuesday as one of several victims of a Ponzi scheme conducted by Siddharth Jawahar.
Jawahar, described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an illegal immigrant, was sentenced to 11 years in jail for defrauding investors out of more than $35 million.
Prosecutors said Jawahar managed Texas-based investment company Swiftarc Capital LLC and invested nearly all of his clients’ funds in Philip Morris Pakistan. When that investment failed, Jawahar misled investors about the fund’s’ performance.
Jawahar “fueled an opulent lifestyle that included trips on private planes, stays at luxury hotels and pricey meals at fine restaurants,” according to the prosecution, using funds received from new investors to pay back previous investors.
A judge stated in court filings that Jawahar is from India and has been in the United States unlawfully since 2005. The court ordered him to pay over $31 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to three wire fraud charges.
Prosecutors said the scammer also ‘tried to obstruct justice’
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Zachary Bluestone “cited the ‘enormous’ losses and the lengthy duration of Jawahar’s fraud and echoed a victim who said Jawahar ‘weaponized’ investors’ trust.” He also stated that Jawahar’s “failure to begin repaying victims was a major factor” in his sentence.
Jawahar also, according to the U.S. attorney’s statement, “tried to obstruct justice by trying to coach a 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.”
Because they don’t discuss specific victims, First Alert 4 reported that the prosecution declined to comment on Travis Kelce’s connection to the crime. However, according to a 2021 Forbes story, Kelce invested in a fund Swiftarc established, which the defendant, Siddharth Jawahar, co-founded.