A former Texas-based investment adviser on Wednesday admitted running a Ponzi scheme that cost investors in Missouri and elsewhere more than $25 million.
Siddharth Jawahar, 38, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of wire fraud.
Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. He initially invested in a diverse array of securities, but in 2015, he began investing client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP).
Eventually, 99 percent of client funds were consolidated into PMP. When the value of PMP declined, Jawahar did not tell investors; instead, he claimed that shares were trading at a much higher price and that they were making profits.
Jawahar used 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 fancy restaurants.
Investors in Missouri, NY and elsewhere were bilked out of $25,000,000+. Today, former Texas-based investment adviser Siddharth Jawahar, 38, admitted running a Ponzi scheme and using some of the investment money to fly on private planes, stay at luxury hotels, and eat at fancy… pic.twitter.com/PvwinvT4Tz
— FBI St. Louis (@FBIStLouis) January 21, 2026
Jawahar on Wednesday also admitted misleading investors by falsely entering into agreements in which he agreed to invest their money in a specific company or companies, including one Missouri investor who gave him $175,000, another Missouri investor who gave him $75,000, a New York investor who handed over $350,000 and an Ohio investor who gave him $250,000.
Jawahar 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 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.
Jawahar is scheduled to be sentenced on April 21. The wire fraud charges are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both. He will also be ordered to repay investors.
The FBI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
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