India-Born Adviser Who Duped Taylor Swift’s Husband Gets 11 Years in Ponzi Case
Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company, Swiftarc Capital LLC. Beginning in 2015, he invested client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP), a major tobacco company in Pakistan associated with Philip Morris International.
By Sakshi
New Delhi, September 17: U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Tuesday sentenced 38-year-old Indian-born financial adviser Siddharth Jawahar to 11 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors in Missouri and elsewhere of millions of dollars.
Bluestone also ordered Jawahar to pay $31.35 million in restitution to the victims. One of the 64 victims of the fraud was NFL star Travis Kelce, the husband of American Popstar Taylor Swift, according to court-related reports.
Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company, Swiftarc Capital LLC. Beginning in 2015, he invested client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP), a major tobacco company in Pakistan associated with Philip Morris International.
Eventually, 99 per cent of client funds were consolidated into PMP. When the value of the investment declined, Jawahar did not disclose the losses to investors and falsely claimed that their investments were generating profits.
He also misled investors into believing that he had invested their money in specific companies when he had not made the promised investments.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Jawahar took in more than $35 million from Swiftarc investors between about July 2016 and December 2023, but invested only about $10 million.
How Jawahar Used Investors' Money
Jawahar used money from new investors to repay older investors and finance an extravagant lifestyle, including private jet travel, stays at luxury hotels, luxury apartments in Austin, Texas, and New York City, memberships in multiple private clubs, expensive restaurant outings and shopping sprees at clothing stores.
After his indictment, Jawahar also attempted to obstruct justice. Prosecutors said he tried to coach a victim into giving a favourable statement to the FBI, lied about his immigration status and finances, and attempted to have his sister remotely wipe his iPhone to conceal evidence.
Jawahar also managed several other entities that prosecutors said were used in connection with the scheme, including Swiftarc Fund LP, Swiftarc LLC, Swiftarc Holdings, SJ Investment Holdings LLC, Order of Magnitude Ventures LLC, Extra Sensory Perception Inc., Swiftarc Growth Fund LP, Swiftarc Opportunities Fund LP, SV Labs SPV 1 LP, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund GP LLC, SJDB Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund LP, Swiftarc Telehealth Labs Fund LP, NI Stubbs LLC and Swiftarc Beauty Fund LP.
Guilty Plea
Jawahar pleaded guilty in January in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of wire fraud.
The FBI and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
A Ponzi scheme is a type of investment fraud in which money from newer investors is used to pay earlier investors, rather than being generated through legitimate investment returns. The term comes from Charles Ponzi, an Italian-born fraudster whose scheme collapsed in the United States.
