Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has been identified as one of dozens of victims in a massive Ponzi scheme that cost investors more than $35 million.
Kelce’s name was read aloud in a St. Louis federal courtroom Tuesday as prosecutors discussed victims of a fraud operation run by investment manager Siddharth Jawahar, according to KMOV and other reports.
Exactly how much money Kelce invested — or lost — has not been publicly disclosed.
The Chiefs tight end was reportedly one of at least 64 victims connected to the scheme. His name does not appear in the publicly available indictment or judgment, and victim impact statements in the case are sealed.
Jawahar, 38, founded Texas-based investment company Swiftarc Capital LLC and began taking money from clients years ago.
According to federal prosecutors, Jawahar eventually collected more than $35 million from investors while falsely representing how their money was being handled.
Authorities said Jawahar poured nearly all of his clients’ investment money into a single company, Philip Morris Pakistan.
When that investment began losing value, prosecutors said Jawahar concealed the losses and continued telling clients that their portfolios were profitable.
The scheme then took on the classic structure of a Ponzi operation, with money from newer investors allegedly being used to make payments to earlier investors.
Federal prosecutors said only about $10 million of the more than $35 million collected was actually invested as promised.
Some of the remaining money was allegedly spent financing Jawahar’s lavish lifestyle, including private plane travel, luxury hotels and expensive restaurant outings.
Kelce had previously been publicly identified as an investor in a Swiftarc fund in a 2021 Forbes article.
NBA players Gary Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mason Plumlee were also named as investors in that fund at the time, although it has not been confirmed whether they were victims in the criminal case.
Jawahar pleaded guilty in January to three counts of wire fraud.
On Sept. 15, U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone sentenced him to 11 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay $31.35 million in restitution to his victims.
The judge cited the enormous financial losses and the years-long nature of the scheme when handing down the sentence.
Kelce has not publicly discussed the case or revealed how much money he may have lost.