There were absolutely scammers, Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes before the pandemic, but it definitely feels like there was a huge shift during and after the pandemic, right? Like, the pandemic broke so many brains and suddenly, the grift is everywhere, and everybody’s got a scam. That along with sports betting – I feel like everything’s connected. Sports betting, cryptocurrency and Ponzi schemes, all walking hand-in-hand. Anyway, athletes and celebrities are constantly being targeted by scammers, and it turns out that Travis Kelce was taken in by a Ponzi scheme. Oof, poor Travis.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is among the victims of a Ponzi scheme that took in more than $35m from unsuspecting investors, a Missouri prosecutor said.
The prosecutor mentioned Kelce in court Tuesday as 38-year-old Siddharth Jawahar was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The US attorney’s office of the eastern district of Missouri said Jawahar pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in US district court in St Louis in January.
Television station KMOV reported that the prosecutor brought up Kelce’s name without further comment. It is not known when Kelce made the investment or how much he spent.
According to a news release from the US attorney’s office, Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company, Swiftarc Capital LLC, that 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.
He also used the investment funds to support what prosecutors called “an extravagant lifestyle” filled with private jets, luxury living, elegant dining and memberships in private clubs. Jawahar was given more than $35m but invested only about $10m from July 2016 through December 2023, per the news release.
Kelce, 36, is unlikely to be the only athlete involved in the Ponzi scheme.
A 2021 article in Forbes about the growing financial portfolio of NBA guard Gary Harris incorporated several comments from Harris about his investments, which included Swiftarc Ventures Labs Fund. Jawahar was the co-founder and managing partner, and Harris also spoke of how much he had learned from Jawahar. The Forbes article mentioned other athletes who had invested, naming Kelce and NBA players Tim Hardaway Jr and Mason Plumlee.
Kelce, Hardaway and Harris all have career earnings in excess of $111m each, according to Spotrac. In July, Kelce married Taylor Swift, who had a net worth of $2.1bn on the day of their wedding, according to Forbes.
Obviously, this is on Jawahar. He’s the criminal, and Travis is the victim. I can’t even imagine how many of these scammers orbit around athletes and celebrities, looking for an opening or an introduction. It could quite literally happen to anyone. I hope Travis didn’t give this guy too much money.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – JULY 11: American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League Travis Kelce arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘Quarterback’ Season 1 held at the Netflix Tudum Theater on July 11, 2023 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 788661173, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Travis Kelce, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- Kansas City Chiefs media day during Super Bowl LIX, New Orleans, LA, USA – 03 Feb 2025 Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce87 talks to the media. New Orleans LA USA, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xx,Image: 960018208, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Avalon
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- Kansas City Chiefs media day during Super Bowl LIX, New Orleans, LA, USA – 03 Feb 2025 Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce87 talks to the media. New Orleans LA USA, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xx,Image: 960018211, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Avalon
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- Kansas City Chiefs media day during Super Bowl LIX, New Orleans, LA, USA – 03 Feb 2025 Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce87 talks to the media. New Orleans LA USA, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xx,Image: 960018214, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Avalon
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- Miami, FL – Travis Kelce arrives at the Annual ‘American Express Presents Carbone Beach’ party in Miami solo, without his girlfriend Taylor Swift in sight. Pictured: Travis Kelce BACKGRID USA 5 MAY 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: 305shock / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Cannes, FRANCE – NFL’ Kansas City Chief’s and Taylor Swift’s beau Travis Kelce with his brother Jason Kelce at the Cannes Lions Festival. Pictured: Travis Kelce BACKGRID USA 20 JUNE 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Newspress / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce arrived at Chez Margaux in New York City, dazzling in contrasting black, white, and red ensembles. Pictured: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce BACKGRID USA 28 DECEMBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were spotted leaving Zero Bond after enjoying a long night out together in Manhattan. Swift stunned in a flowing floral maxi dress while Kelce kept things relaxed and stylish in a patterned short-sleeve shirt paired with black trousers during the fashionable celebrity outing. Pictured: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce BACKGRID USA 15 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: Tatiana / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY Superstar couple Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have intimate dinner at Honeys in Bushwick Brooklyn this evening in New York. Pictured: Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce BACKGRID USA 16 MAY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I hope Taylor Swift’s pre nup is iron clad.
A prenup doesn’t protect you from marital debts.
prenups can protect you from the other person’s debt- including medical debt. there’s been a lot of progress here
All investments come with risk but not everything is scam. Why ever use an unknown entity for investing? I know there’s a get rick quick appeal to rogue funds but if you’re already rich conservative investments seem like an easy choice.
I watched the Fyre Fest doc on Netflix again recently and hearing Billy McFarland say “we are selling a pipe dream to your average loser” is all I needed to know about how the economy works in 2026.
Oh, it will be, Aquarius64. This woman doesn’t mess around, which I admire greatly.
IKR? Even if she is truly in love and this is all for real (anything’s possible), Tay has people. Her people have people. Iron clad and dipped in titanium.
Yeah, she’s a very smart businessperson. She needs to lend some of those smarts to her husband — while protecting her money.
Travis Kelce was thirsty and trying to get a famous girlfriend, any famous girlfriend for a while before it happened with Taylor. Not sure if the timing lines up but wonder if this is why.
A fool and his money are soon parted. You will never catch me being sad about millionaires being stupid and losing their improperly taxed millions, especially when this one is married to a billionaire.
Hear, hear. Rich people problems, not gonna feel sorry for him.
If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Jawahar took $35 million total and was able to live crazy large until he was caught. That’s my take away, $35 million is more than enough to be obscenely wealthy. That stinks for Travis and the NBA player, but I definitely feel more for the non famous individuals who most likely paid the biggest percentage of their $. Freaking scam artists, it must be so hard to know who to trust with the money.
Unfortunately thanks to the grifter in the White House and his equally criminal kids and associates, scams like this are becoming increasingly common. Plus, the knowledge that you can effectively buy a pardon or reduced charges by making a large donation to Mango Voldemort and crying “political prosecution” is undoubtedly tipping the scale in favour of the crooks.
I think most athletes are easy to fool—especially the male ones. And the more blows to the head they take, the easier they are to dupe.
But, and I may be wrong, don’t they have their own people looking out for this type of thing? Also, would you not thoroughly investigate the person asking for your money. I guess i just can’t give $100, much less over a million, to anything that I don’t really know about.
The problem is that a lot of their “own people” are the ones DOING this kind of thing. It’s not uncommon for athletes to get grifted by friends and family members. It’s much easier to get scammed by someone you know and trust, that you have a shared history with and more difficult if you’re a stranger.
MightyMolly, damn straight.
Wow there are some really nasty comments in this thread. Doubting a relationship, saying Travis deserved to be scammed. This is terrible what this man did, to a lot of people many of whom weren’t famous rich athletes. That should be the focus.
In an NYT thread for sure, but we’re here to gossip about celebs and be a tad “bitchy” about it. 😉 Come on in! The water’s fine.
I think we both know that’s not true because if I went into some of the threads where everyone’s sides with them that I find annoy those people annoying and said my real thoughts, my post would be deleted or I’d be attacked so no, I’m not going to do this on somebody who is a victim of a crime
A lot of high school athletes were handed “hot dog” money early on. Athletes are bought and sold by coaches, financial “advisors” and agents. The NCAA looked away long before NIL. There’s a pattern of male athletes without financial literacy trusting “bag men” and others who take advantage. Eagles kicker David Akers lost 3.7 million on a Ponzi scheme in 2007, for example. No one deserves to be scammed, but male athletes who suddenly have big bank accounts are targeted.
It’s not uncommon for scammers to go through an entire locker room (or at least, several players on the same team). When someone “knows a guy” and thinks he’s legit, it’s easy to introduce him to others. Furthermore, once a player thinks/knows that he’s been scammed, they often won’t say anything to teammates because they’re embarrassed, and then the scammers are free to go after other people and groups of people. What sucks is the scammer usually walks away with tons of pics, texts, etc. that can be used as “proof” for the next group of targets because those targets often will believe photos of luxurious travel and fancy meals with famous people instead of doing background checks or receiving legit financial documents.