Chiefs star Travis Kelce is named among victims of $35m Ponzi scheme

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is among the victims of a Ponzi scheme that took in more ⁠than $35m from unsuspecting investors, a Missouri prosecutor said.

The prosecutor mentioned Kelce in court Tuesday as 38-year-old Siddharth Jawahar was ⁠sentenced to 11 years ⁠in prison. ​The US attorney’s office of the eastern district of Missouri said Jawahar pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in ⁠US district court in St Louis in January.

He also was ordered to pay $31.35m in restitution.

Television station KMOV reported that the ⁠prosecutor brought up Kelce’s name without further comment. It is not known when Kelce made ​the investment or how much he ‌spent.

According to a news ‌release from the US attorney’s office, Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company, Swiftarc Capital LLC, ‌that in 2015 began taking money from investors. He put all of the money he accepted into a single investment, which dropped in value. He did not notify investors of the loss, told them they were making money and took money from new investors to repay the earlier investors.

He also used the investment funds ‌to support what prosecutors called “an extravagant lifestyle” filled with private jets, luxury living, elegant dining and memberships in private clubs.

Jawahar was given more than $35m but invested only about $10m from July 2016 through December 2023, per the news release.

Kelce, 36, is unlikely to be the only athlete involved in the Ponzi scheme.

A 2021 article in Forbes about the growing financial portfolio of NBA guard Gary Harris incorporated ⁠several comments from Harris about his investments, which included Swiftarc Ventures Labs ​Fund. Jawahar was the ​co-founder and managing partner, and Harris ​also spoke of how much he had learned from Jawahar. The Forbes article ​mentioned other athletes ‌who had invested, ​naming Kelce ​and NBA players Tim Hardaway Jr and Mason Plumlee.

Kelce, Hardaway and Harris all have career earnings in excess of $111m each, according to Spotrac.

In July, Kelce married Taylor Swift, who had a net worth of $2.1bn on the day of their wedding, according to Forbes.

After speculation about his potential retirement swirled last season, Kelce signed a one-year extension to return for his 14th campaign with the Chiefs. Kansas City beat the Denver Broncos in their season opener on Monday.