Ohio Investors Lose Big as Adviser Gets 11 Years for $35M Ponzi Scam

Siddharth Jawahar, a 38‑year‑old investment adviser from Texas, walked out of court facing an 11‑year prison term. Judge Zachary M. Bluestone ordered him to pay $31.35 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to three wire‑fraud counts. The sentence caps a scheme that ripped off dozens of Northeast Ohio families and businesses.

Jawahar ran a firm called Swiftarc Capital LLC, which began taking money in 2015. He promised profits and steered most of the cash into Philip Morris Pakistan. When that bet fell, he told investors the returns were still strong. From July 2016 through December 2023 he collected more than $35 million but only put about $10 million to work. New deposits were used to pay earlier backers, a classic Ponzi move. The extra cash funded a luxury life: private jets, high‑end hotels, apartments in Austin and New York, and memberships at exclusive clubs.

Local residents sued Jawahar and Swiftarc earlier this year, claiming a combined loss of roughly $5 million. The complaint names 13 entities, including a Rocky River couple who lost $325,000, a Brecksville trust that lost $583,000, a Cleveland man who lost $335,000, and a Lakewood pair who lost $166,000. The case is still moving through the courts, and the victims await any further resolution.

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