NFL star Travis Kelce has reportedly been identified as one of the victims of an elaborate Ponzi scheme operated by businessman Siddharth Jawahar, 24NewsHD TV reported on Saturday.
According to media reports, Jawahar, 38, was sentenced on September 15 to 11 years in prison for defrauding investors of millions of dollars.
He was also ordered to pay $31 million in restitution to those he defrauded.
The case was prosecuted in St. Louis, and reports by NBC and KMOV said Kelce, 36, was briefly mentioned in court as one of the victims.
A 2021 Forbes report listed Kelce as an investor in Swiftarc Ventures Labs Fund, one of the entities Jawahar allegedly used as part of his scheme under the Swiftarc Capital LLC umbrella.
NBA players Gary Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mason Plumlee were also reported to have invested in the company.
According to court documents, Jawahar operated Texas-based Swiftarc Capital LLC and began investing clients’ money in Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP) in 2015.
About 99% of the client funds were eventually invested in PMP, but Jawahar failed to inform investors when the value of the investment declined.
The court said Jawahar eventually obtained more than $35 million from investors while actually investing only about $10 million.
The remaining money was allegedly used to repay earlier investors and finance an extravagant lifestyle, including private-jet travel, luxury hotels, expensive apartments in Austin and New York, private club memberships, shopping and high-end restaurants.
Jawahar operated several investment entities under the Swiftarc umbrella, according to the court.
After his indictment, prosecutors said Jawahar also attempted to destroy evidence by asking his sister to wipe his iPhone, obscure details about his immigration status, provide false financial information and persuade a victim to give more favorable testimony.
US District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone described the losses suffered by investors as “enormous” and said Jawahar had “weaponized” the trust placed in him by investors.
Jawahar was indicted in January and later pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in a US District Court.