A federal judge in St. Louis sentenced Siddharth Jawahar to 11 years in prison this week for operating a $35 million Ponzi scheme that targeted investors, mostly in Missouri. Jawahar, an Indian national who had lived illegally in the United States since 2005, pleaded guilty earlier this year to wire fraud charges.

Jawahar operated Swiftarc Capital LLC, a Texas-based investment firm. The company took in more than $35 million from investors between 2016 and 2023 but only roughly $10 million were placed into actual investments, according to the Justice Department. Most of the funds went into a single Philip Morris Pakistan stock which declined sharply in value. Jawahar used new investor money to pay earlier clients and concealed the losses while continuing to fund his own extravagant lifestyle.

Jawahar pleaded guilty in January to the three counts of wire fraud. Court documents describe the operation as a classic Ponzi scheme that began soliciting funds as early as 2015.

Federal prosecutors highlighted efforts by a Missouri political consulting firm to influence the sentencing of Jawahar over the multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Court records show that in late August, just weeks before sentencing, Jawahar hired Axiom Strategies, the political consulting firm founded by prominent political operative Jeff Roe, for $10,000. The agreement called for the firm to develop support letters and secure favorable media coverage in an attempt to influence the judge toward a lighter sentence for Jawahar.

Prosecutors highlighted recorded jail calls between Jawahar and Roe in which they discussed obtaining a letter from a political figure. Roe indicated efforts to find "someone good," and days later U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican with longstanding ties to Roe and Axiom, sent a letter urging a sentence of just four years and describing Jawahar as having chosen accountability. Graves signed the letter just days after one of the calls.

Roe and Jawahar also discussed placing a positive article in a local newspaper and using digital targeting to ensure the judge would see it. The Jefferson City News Tribune, a local Missouri newspaper, would then publish an article on August 28 that praised Jawahar.

"Jawahar's story is one of perseverance, service, and the belief that redemption and second chances are built through action," it said. The original article when published also included Jawahar's prison programs. Detention officials confirmed that none of those programs existed.

Prosecutors noted that Jawahar prioritized these political maneuvers over repaying victims and argued that spending the money on political influence rather than victim restitution showed a lack of accountability.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Bluestone rejected the leniency request and sentenced Jawahar to 11 years in prison, followed by three years of supervision. Jawahar faces deportation after his sentence. The judge described the influence attempts as a "ludicrous idea" during the hearing.

The arrangement drew scrutiny for deploying campaign-style tactics in a criminal proceeding and because of Roe's alleged abuse of his connection to Graves and other prominent Republican figures.

Roe has a lengthy background in national politics and many high-profile connections. He founded Axiom Strategies in 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri, and the firm went on to quickly achieve an 81 percent win rate and played at least some role in electing over 100 members of Congress. Additionally, Roe previously served as campaign manager for Texas Senator Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign and also consulted on the presidential bids of Mike Huckabee and Rick Perry.

Roe's firm has in some capacity advised many other well-known political figures including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also has connections to Roe, hiring Axiom Strategies in April 2025 to help run his 2026 U.S. Senate primary campaign against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

Roe has seemingly maintained relatively close ties to Rep. Same Graves as well, having managed the Missouri congressman's early state Senate campaign in the 1990s and later serving as his congressional chief of staff. Graves has received campaign services from Roe's firm totaling $1.77 million since 2006.

Graves, who is retiring after 25 years in Congress, claims he submitted the letter of support for Jawahar in his personal capacity.

Jawahar's case underscores growing concerns over the use of political consultants to mitigate consequences for serious financial crimes, particularly when the victims of these crimes remain uncompensated.

Neither Axiom Strategies nor Roe have publicly commented on the matter.