NFL star Travis Kelce has reportedly been identified as one of the victims of a major Ponzi scheme prosecuted in a Missouri federal court.
Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, was named in court on Tuesday as one of several investors allegedly defrauded by Siddharth Jawahar, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after admitting to a scheme that cost investors more than $35 million.
Jawahar, 38, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in January and was ordered to pay more than $31 million in restitution to his victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The amount Kelce reportedly lost was not disclosed, and prosecutors did not provide further details about his connection to the case.
Jawahar operated Texas-based investment firm Swiftarc Capital LLC and, beginning in 2015, allegedly directed most of his clients’ funds into a single investment in Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP).
When the investment lost significant value, prosecutors said Jawahar failed to inform investors. Instead, he allegedly misled them into believing their money had been invested in a profitable company.
Of the more than $35 million involved in the scheme, Jawahar reportedly invested only about $10 million between July 2016 and December 2023.
Prosecutors said he used some of the funds for private jets, luxury hotels, expensive restaurants, private club memberships and upscale apartments in Austin and New York.
Swiftarc Capital LLC was reportedly among several entities Jawahar used to facilitate the multimillion-dollar fraud.
Following his indictment, Jawahar also allegedly attempted to coach a victim into providing a favourable statement to the FBI and asked his sister to wipe his iPhone in an effort to conceal evidence.
