It’s been barely three months since Travis Kelce became Taylor Swift’s lawfully wedded husband, and he’s already doing embarrassing-husband shit, like falling for a Ponzi scheme.
On Tuesday, investment adviser Siddharth Jawahar was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of wire fraud. He was ordered to repay victims at least $31 million in restitution—one of whom was none other than the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Mr. Taylor Swift. I guess you could say he… dropped the ball.
To add insult to injury, Jawahar’s fraudulent investment firm was called “Swiftarc Capital LLC.” Begging the question: Did Kelce see the name Swift and just sign on the dotted line? Or was this dodgy investment—apparently dating back to 2021—an invisible string tying him to his future wife? (Could make for some more material for Swift and Jack Antonoff to noodle over…)
According to a statement from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office, Jawahar, who operated Swiftarc from 2016 to 2023, “funneled nearly all of his clients’ money into one investment—Philip Morris Pakistan.” He then lied to investors about the money’s performance and used new investors to pay back the old, all the while siphoning off a majority of the funds for his “extravagant” lifestyle, per the release: “travel on private jets, stays at luxury hotels, a luxury apartment in Austin and New York City, memberships at multiple private clubs across the country, spending sprees at clothing stores and expensive outings at fancy restaurants.” Sounds legit! God forbid Kelce have some faith in the ROI of his superstar wife.
It’s unclear when exactly Kelce became an “investor” (Forbes listed him as an investor in the Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund as recently as 2021), how much money he sank into the company, or who finally told him what a Ponzi scheme is. (I would dole out Ponzi-levels of cash to be the fly on the wall for that conversation). What we do know is that local outlets reported he was named as one of the victims in court. Perhaps now we know why Kelce had to sell a $33 martini at his new restaurant—or why he and Swift couldn’t spring for a bigger venue for their wedding. (MSG only seats 20,000.)
Good thing Kelce probably doesn’t have to worry about money for another day of his life. But as for all the other Swifties, let this be your lesson: Don’t invest in a Swift-themed investment firm. You won’t get your money back, and you definitely won’t get a Limited Edition “Fate of Ophelia” acoustic version vinyl.
