Bud Light, Pfizer, and … Philip Morris Pakistan?
NFL tight end Travis Kelce has been involved with all three of these companies, but only the last one was part of a massive fraud scheme conducted by an illegal immigrant.
‘An extravagant lifestyle that included travel on private jets.’
Siddharth Jawahar, 38, was sentenced by a U.S. district judge after he was found to have defrauded dozens in a Ponzi scheme through his Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC.
Jawahar was investing client funds, including Kelce’s, into a single company called Philip Morris Pakistan.
The Department of Justice said that 99% of client funds were consolidated into that company, totaling more than $35 million.
When the value of the company declined, the illegal alien did not tell investors but instead told them they were making profits. Jawahar also led his clients to believe he was investing their money in other companies that he never actually invested in.
From July 2016 to December 2023, Jawahar took the reported $35 million through Swiftarc but invested only around $10 million, the DOJ noted.
Jawahar would use money from new investors to repay old ones, while funding what was described as “an extravagant lifestyle that included travel on private jets, stays at luxury hotels, [and] luxury apartment[s] in Austin and New York City.”
He also took out memberships at multiple private clubs across the United States, went on spending sprees at clothing stores, and had expensive outings at fancy restaurants.
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U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone sentenced Jawahar on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January.
He was ordered to pay $31.35 million in restitution and received an 11-year federal prison sentence.
Judge Bluestone cited the “enormous” losses, the DOJ explained, as well as the duration of the fraud scheme. The judge also referred to one of the victims, who said Jawahar “weaponized” the trust of his investors, and said that Jawahar’s failure to repay victims was a major factor in the case.
The amount Kelce lost through the investments is unknown, but a spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri revealed to the Associated Press that there were 64 victims in total of the scheme.
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According to the Associated Press, Jawahar is an illegal immigrant from India who has been living in the United States since 2005.
The outlet also reported that prosecutors said Jawahar tried to coach a victim into giving the FBI a favorable statement following his indictment and that he lied about his immigration status.
Jawahar was also accused of trying to get one of his relatives to remotely wipe his iPhone to hide evidence.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Kelce did not respond to Blaze News’ requests for comments.
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