The White House has chosen to twist the knife into Travis Kelce after he was revealed to be the victim of a Ponzi scheme.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was one of 60 victims of a fraud scheme into an investment fund.
Kelce’s name did not appear in the indictment or the judgment, however he was an investor in Swiftarc Ventures Lab Fund – a business set up by Siddharth Jawahar, who pled guilty to federal wire fraud charges this year.
Jawahar is alleged to have collected tens of millions from new investors between 2016 and 2023, using the money to pay off debts and to finance ‘flights on private planes, stays at luxury hotels, and expensive outings at lavish restaurants.’
After prosecutors in a St. Louis federal courtroom named Kelce as one of Jawahar’s victims, the White House decided to make light of the situation while advocating for their Task Force to Eliminate Fraud – established by executive order.
‘This is why we do what we do,’ a tweet on the official White House account read. ‘Seems like a good time to re-up the work of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud: identifying fraud & protecting Americans.’
The White House mocked Travis Kelce after he was found to be the victim of a Ponzi scheme
Kelce was the victim of the scheme run by Siddarth Jawahar, who pled guilty to wire fraud
Some believe the mockery could be stemming from Trump’s distaste for Taylor Swift
The account added: ‘Oh and it looks like the next draft pick to join the Task Force is @tkelce!’
Comments underneath the post were critical of the White House for focusing its attention on a multi-millionaire athlete married to the world’s biggest pop star instead of middle-class and lower-class Americans.
‘Yep. Helping the wealthy get wealthier while the rest of us pay $4.50 a gallon for gas,’ read one comment.
Another said: ‘A millionaire is a victim of a money crime. Cool. Hey guys, we are down here. Us little people. Paying record prices. Little help.’
One user believes the White House posted this ‘to troll Taylor swift lol.’
Jawahar’s scheme saw him channel client funds into one investment, the stock for Philip Morris Pakistan, as far back as 2015 – with 99 percent of his clients’ money concentrated in that one company, per the US attorney’s office. But when the investment began declining, Jawahar lied and told clients their portfolios were performing well.
However, according to investigators, only $10 million of the funds were actually invested. The rest, they claim, was going directly to Jawahar.
Jawahar, who is currently held in St. Genevieve County jail, pled guilty to three counts of wire fraud. He has been ordered to pay $31 million in restitution to victims and has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
