Indian American indicted in Ponzi scheme by FBI

Washington: An Indian-American person has been indicted by a grand jury in a Ponzi scheme with the FBI urging victims of the investment adviser in Texas to come forward.

Siddharth Jawahar, 36, has been ordered imprisonment until sentencing by the court. The FBI on Wednesday said it is seeking potential Miami-area victims of Jawahar who has been accused of running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

According to the indictment, from July 2016 through roughly December 2023, Jawahar took in more than Rs 289 crore ($35 million) from Swiftarc investors but spent about Rs 82 crore ($10 million) on investments in companies.

Jawahar used the money from new investors to repay older investors and to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included flights on private planes, stays at luxury hotels and expensive outings at lavish restaurants, the indictment says.

In 2015, Jawahar began investing the majority of client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP), the indictment says, and eventually, 99 per cent of client funds were consolidated into the PMP investment.

Jawahar did not tell investors of a dramatic decline in the value of PMP, instead misled investors about the share price and their profits.

The indictment says Jawahar also did not tell investors when the Texas State Securities Board revoked Swiftarc Capital’s authority to conduct investment activities on June 7, 2022, and ordered Jawahar to “cease from engaging in fraud”.

Jawahar continued to fraudulently solicit and receive investor funds, including Rs 8 crore ($1 million) from an investor weeks after the state board’s order, the indictment says.

The wire fraud charges are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a Rs 2 crore ($2,50,000) fine, or both.

The investment adviser fraud charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a Rs 8,28,375 ($10,000) fine, or both.