17 September,2026 07:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Pic via X
Newly married Taylor Swift's husband Travis Kelce has been named among the investors linked to a Rs 335 crore Ponzi scheme operated by Indian-origin investment adviser Siddharth Jawahar. Jawahar, 38, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of wire fraud in the US District Court in St Louis. He has also been ordered to pay Rs 300 crore in restitution to victims.
Kelce's name was mentioned by a prosecutor during Jawahar's sentencing hearing, according to US television station KMOV. However, details about when Kelce invested with Jawahar or how much money he put into the investment have not been disclosed. It also remains unclear how much, if any, of Kelce's investment was lost in the scheme.
According to court documents cited by The Associated Press, Jawahar is originally from India and had been living in the US without legal status since 2005. He operated Texas-based investment company Swiftarc Capital LLC, which began accepting money from investors in 2015.
Prosecutors said Jawahar eventually consolidated about 99 per cent of his clients' funds into a single investment in Philip Morris Pakistan. When the investment declined in value, he allegedly concealed the losses from investors and falsely told them that their investments were generating profits.
Between July 2016 and December 2023, Jawahar received more than USD 35 million from Swiftarc investors but invested only around USD 10 million, according to prosecutors. Instead of revealing the losses, he used money from new investors to repay earlier investors, allowing the scheme to continue.
Prosecutors also alleged that Jawahar used investors' money to fund an extravagant lifestyle. This included private jet travel, luxury hotel stays, a luxury apartment, private club memberships, shopping and expensive restaurant outings.
He also misled some investors into believing their money had been placed in specific companies when those investments had never actually been made.
Kelce was reportedly not the only professional athlete connected to Swiftarc. A 2021 Forbes profile on NBA player Gary Harris' financial portfolio identified Kelce, along with NBA players Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mason Plumlee, as investors in Swiftarc. The extent of their individual investments and any losses have not been publicly revealed. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married earlier this year on July 3, 2026.
