ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Tuesday sentenced an illegal immigrant who ran a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors in Missouri and elsewhere out of millions of dollars to 11 years in prison.
Judge Bluestone also ordered Siddharth Jawahar, 38, to pay $31.35 million in restitution to victims.
Judge Bluestone cited the “enormous” losses and the lengthy duration of Jawahar’s fraud and echoed a victim who said Jawahar “weaponized” investors’ trust. He also said Jawahar’s failure to begin repaying victims was a major factor.
Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. In 2015, he began investing client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP). Eventually, 99% of client funds were consolidated into PMP. When the value of PMP declined, Jawahar did not tell investors and falsely claimed that his investors were making profits. Investors were also falsely led to believe that he’d invested their money in a specific company or companies but he never made the promised investments.
From about July 2016 through December 2023, Jawahar took in more than $35 million from Swiftarc investors but invested only about $10 million.
Jawahar used money from new investors to repay older investors and to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included 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.
After his indictment, Jawahar tried to obstruct justice by trying to coach a victim into giving a favorable statement to the FBI, lying about his immigration status and finances and trying to get his sister to remotely wipe his iPhone to hide evidence.
Jawahar also managed additional entities that he utilized during his scheme, including Swiftarc Fund LP, Swiftarc LLC, Swiftarc Holdings, SJ Investment Holdings LLC, Order of Magnitude Ventures LLC, Extra Sensory Perception Inc., Swiftarc Growth Fund LP, Swiftarc Opportunities Fund LP, SJ Investment Holdings LLC, SV Labs SPV 1 LP, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund GP LLC, SJDB Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund LP, Swiftarc Telehealth Labs Fund LP, NI Stubbs LLC and Swiftarc Beauty Fund LP.
He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in January to three counts of wire fraud.
The FBI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.