Travis Kelce named as victim in $25 million fraud scheme
FILE-Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on against the Denver Broncos during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game at Arrowhead Stadium on September 14, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was named as a victim in a $25 million fraud scheme.
Siddharth Jawahar, the defendant in the case, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone also ordered him to pay $31.35 million in restitution to victims.
KCTV-5 in Kansas City reported that not much was mentioned about Kelce in court other than him being named as a victim. Prosecutors did not provide additional comments about Kelce’s connection.
In January, Jawahar pleaded guilty in a St. Louis court to three counts of wire fraud. He ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors in Missouri and other places, according to a Department of Justice release.
Travis Kelce victim of fraud scheme
Dig deeper:
Siddharth Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. In 2015, he began investing client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP).
A 2021 Forbes article reported that Kelce was an investor in a fund created by Swiftarc.
The Justice Department noted in their release that approximately 99% of client funds were consolidated into PMP.
When the value of PMP plunged Jawahar didn’t inform investors and falsely alleged that his investors were making money.
Investors were duped into thinking that Jawahar invested their money in a specific organization or organizations, but he never made the promised investments.
Between July 2016 through December 2023, Jawahar amassed over $35 million from Swiftarc investors but invested only $10 million.
A judge noted that Jawahar is from India and has been in the U.S. illegally since 2005. According to KCTV-5 in Kansas City, prosecutors explained that Jawahar is expected to be deported after he serves his time in prison.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by a Department of Justice release, Forbes, and KCTV-5 in Kansas City. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.