Travis Kelce Among Athletes Defrauded in $35 Million Ponzi Scheme
Investment manager Siddharth Jawahar, who swindled victims out of millions, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and faces an 11-year prison sentence.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been identified as a victim in a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Texas fund manager Siddharth Jawahar. Jawahar pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January 2026 and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison in St. Louis.
Prosecutors stated that Jawahar operated Swiftarc Capital LLC, an investment firm that defrauded victims of more than $35 million between July 2016 and December 2023. Instead of managing a diversified portfolio, Jawahar funneled approximately 99% of investor capital into a single stock, Philip Morris Pakistan.
Jawahar concealed the losses from this concentrated investment, issuing falsified statements to investors. He used funds from new investors to cover payouts to earlier clients. The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Jawahar invested roughly $10 million of the total funds raised. The remainder was used to finance a lavish personal lifestyle, including private jet travel, luxury apartments in Austin and New York, high-end dining, and exclusive club memberships.
The exact financial loss suffered by Kelce was not specified in court filings. Kelce was not the only professional athlete targeted in the scheme. A 2021 Forbes report previously linked Swiftarc funds to several NBA players, including Gary Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Mason Plumlee.
U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone ordered Jawahar to pay $31.35 million in restitution to the victims.