Travis Kelce Among Investors Duped in $31M Ponzi Scheme

Travis Kelce's name surfaced in federal court this week—not for anything on the football field, but as one of dozens of investors duped in a nationwide Ponzi scheme. A court reporter tells NBC News that a prosecutor said the Kansas City Chiefs star was among the "high-profile" victims of Siddharth Jawahar, who was sentenced on Tuesday to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $31 million in restitution. Jawahar, 38, ran Texas-based Swiftarc Capital from 2016 to 2023, pulling in more than $35 million but investing only about $10 million, according to prosecutors.

Details of Kelce's losses weren't disclosed, and his camp hasn't commented. The AP notes that a 2021 Forbes article mentioned Kelce's involvement with Swiftarc. Prosecutors say Jawahar used new investors' money to pay old ones and fund private jets, stays at luxury hotels, and club memberships. Fortune reports that the government was blunt in its assessment of Jawahar, noting in a sentencing memo that referenced Jawahar's own wording that he "did this because of greed, any other adjective would be incorrect." Jawahar pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January.