FBI searching for KC-area victims in multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for potential Kansas City-area victims in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
A St. Louis-area grand jury indicted investment advisor Siddharth Jawahar in December on three counts of wire fraud and one count of investment adviser fraud.
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Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. Prosecutors say from July 2016 to December 2023, Jawahar took more than $35 million from investors, but only spent about $10 million on investing in companies.
The indictment says Jawahar used money from new investors to repay older investors — but he also used the money to “fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included flights on private planes, stays at luxury hotels and expensive outings at lavish restaurants.”
Prosecutors say, starting in 2015, the 36-year-old began investing majority of client funds into a single investment. Eventually 99% of client funds were consolidated into that investment.
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But Jawahar didn’t tell his clients of the investment’s drastic decline in value, the indictment says, instead misleading them about their profits.
Texas authorities also revoked Swiftarc Capital’s authority to conduct investment activities in 2022, but prosecutors say Jawahar continued to fraudulently solicit and receive investor funds.
At a Feb. 16 detention hearing, federal prosecutors said the FBI has located victims in St. Louis and Kansas City, but also across the country, including Miami, Los Angeles, Cleveland, New York, San Francisco and Austin.
Anyone who invested with Jawahar or Swiftarc Capital is asked to contact the FBI St. Louis Division at 314-589-2500.
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The 36-year-old investment advisor is currently being held in jail until trial.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 for each wire fraud charge. The investment adviser fraud could result in up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, if convicted.
