WASHINGTON – The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after an illegal alien was sentenced to 11 years in prison for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded his victims of more than $30 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced that on September 15, U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone sentenced Siddharth Jawahar, an illegal alien from India, to 11 years in prison after he had pleaded guilty in January to THREE counts of wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay $31.35 million in restitution to victims.
Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC, which began investing client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP), in 2015. When 99% of client funds were consolidated into PMP and its value declined, Jawahar did not tell investors and falsely claimed that they were making profits.
From July 2016 to December 2023, Jawahar took in more than $35 million from Swiftarc investors, but only invested about $10 million. He used the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle, including travel on private jets, stays at luxury hotels, luxury apartments, memberships at private clubs, spending sprees, and expensive outings at fancy restaurants.
“This illegal alien from India has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after he was found guilty as sin of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded his victims of more than $30 million,” said a DHS Spokesperson. “This criminal mastermind’s endgame was to steal their money so he could be popping champagne in the lap of luxury, but karma has finally tackled him. Once he completes his sentence, he will be SWIFTly deported from the United States and live the rest of his life in exile. Illegal aliens exploiting Americans is nothing new after many years of open borders and sanctuary policies, but the men and women of DHS know all too well how to handle such cases. DHS remains CHIEFly committed to deporting illegal aliens so that we can prevent such injustices from ever happening again.”
Jawahar lawfully entered the United States multiple times between August 2005 and January 2010, but illegally overstayed his approved period. His criminal history includes a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated in Texas.The FBI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.