Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is among the victims of a Ponzi scheme that took in more \u2060than $35m from unsuspecting investors, a Missouri prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor mentioned Kelce in court Tuesday as 38-year-old Siddharth Jawahar was \u2060sentenced to 11 years \u2060in prison. \u200bThe US attorney\u2019s office of the eastern district of Missouri said Jawahar pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in \u2060US district court in St Louis in January.<\/p>\n
He also was ordered to pay $31.35m in restitution.<\/p>\n
Television station KMOV reported that the \u2060prosecutor brought up Kelce\u2019s name without further comment. It is not known when Kelce made \u200bthe investment or how much he \u200cspent.<\/p>\n
According to a news \u200crelease from the US attorney\u2019s office, Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company, Swiftarc Capital LLC, \u200cthat 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.<\/p>\n
He also used the investment funds \u200cto support what prosecutors called \u201can extravagant lifestyle\u201d filled with private jets, luxury living, elegant dining and memberships in private clubs.<\/p>\n
Jawahar was given more than $35m but invested only about $10m from July 2016 through December 2023, per the news release.<\/p>\n
Kelce, 36, is unlikely to be the only athlete involved in the Ponzi scheme.<\/p>\n