"OUT OF NOWHERE" TRAVIS KELCE PULLED INTO $35 MILLION FRAUD SCHEME, NAMES LISTED IN COURT DOCUMENTS

Legendary NFL and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is unexpectedly now in the middle of a fraud scheme that stole nearly $35 million.  News of Kelce’s name being brought into the legal proceedings surfaced on Wednesday morning and has immediately gone viral, given his high exposure.

However, how he is tied to this scheme has shocked fans especially because this has come out of nowhere.  Here are the details.

Sep 14, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) makes a catch against the Denver Broncos at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Travis Kelce Pulled Into Million Dollar Scheme

A fraud case was brought against Travis Kelce shortly after he returned to the field for the 2026 season.

The Chiefs‘ tight end Travis Kelce is alleged to have been defrauded by Siddharth Jawahar in a massive Ponzi scheme, according to federal court records. Kelce is only identified by the records as someone who lost money, according to local station KCTV-5.

The 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion has not disclosed how much money he lost. TMZ reports that over $35 million was taken in total by the scam.

Basically, Jawahar ran a firm called Swiftarc Capital LLC and dumped almost all of his clients’ money into just one company, Philip Morris Pakistan. When that investment lost value, prosecutors said Jawahar misled investors about their money.

“According to the feds, Jawahar ran Swiftarc Capital LLC and funneled nearly all of his clients’ money into one investment — Philip Morris Pakistan. When that bet went south, prosecutors say Jawahar lied to investors about how their money was performing … while using new investor cash to pay earlier clients,” TMZ reported.

Jawahar then allegedly used money from new investors to pay earlier clients. “The feds say he also lived large on the money, splurging on private jets, luxury hotels, restaurants, shopping and pricey apartments,” the outlet also mentioned. 

 Jawahar was sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud by a federal court. He was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $31 million.

As of Wednesday morning, Kelce hadn’t spoken publicly about the case. He recorded 71 receiving yards against the Broncos on Monday night. His performance in that game moved him into second place for most receiving yards by a tight end. In the process, he passed former Cowboys star Jason Witten, leaving only Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez in front of him.

- McQuade Arnold

US BUSINESSMAN JOSH WANDER, WHOSE FIRM INVESTED IN SOCCER CLUBS, INDICTED FOR ALLEGED $500M FROUD

Josh Wander, CEO of the 777 Partners Group, speaks at a press conference on the entry as new investor for Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC in Berlin, Germany, March 13, 2023. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP, file)
 

NEW YORK (AP) — An American businessman whose firm invested in several European soccer clubs that struggled under its ownership has been indicted in New York on charges of financial wrongdoing in an alleged $500 million fraud scheme.

Josh Wander was a co-founder of Miami-based 777 Partners that owned stakes in an Australian airline plus soccer clubs Hertha Berlin in Germany, Genoa in Italy, Standard Liege in Belgium and Vasco da Gama in Brazil.

The 777 story became a cautionary tale in the global soccer trend of multi-club ownership — investors taking stakes in several clubs in different countries. European soccer body UEFA has identified the trend as a threat to the integrity of games and the player trading industry worth more than $10 billion each year.

“As alleged, Wander used his investment firm, 777 Partners, to cheat private lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars by pledging assets that his firm did not own, falsifying bank statements and making other material misrepresentations about 777’s financial condition,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

The indictment charging Wander with wire fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit those crimes was unsealed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. Most of the charges carry a maximum prison term of 20 years.

Wander’s lawyer, Jordan Estes, told The Associated Press on Friday that Wander looks forward “to setting the record straight.

This is a business dispute dressed up as a criminal case,” Estes said in a written statement.

Wander and 777 had failed last year in targeting their biggest capture in soccer, nine-time English champion Everton, amid increasing scrutiny of the business and a lawsuit in New York from a London-based investor.

Reporting about 777’s soccer interests, led by Norwegian soccer magazine Josimar, intensified even before Wander was elected to a board seat at the influential European Club Association, a network of hundreds of teams that shapes the Champions League and other competitions.

Wander’s firm had moved heavily into soccer in 2021, buying stakes in financially distressed clubs recovering from playing in empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The former chief financial officer at 777, Damien Alfalla, “is cooperating with the government,” the FBI said, and made a guilty plea this week.

“The women and men of the SDNY and our law enforcement partners will continue to work tirelessly to protect our investors and our markets,” Clayton said.

Another 777 executive, Steven Pasko, also is targeted in a civil law court filing Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It wasn’t immediately clear who is representing Pasko.

 AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

PROSECUTORS ALLEGE ANCELOTTI TAX FRAUD, SWEK PRISON SENTENCE

Carlo Ancelotti speaking at a news conference on Tuesday ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League game against RB Leipzig. Photo by Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

 Spanish state prosecutors have requested a jail term of four years and nine months for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti for the Italian's alleged defrauding of the country's tax office.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Madrid's regional state prosecutor accused Ancelotti, 64, of two counts of tax fraud from 2014 to 2015 regarding his earnings for image rights that add up to over €1 million ($1.09m).

ESPN reached out to Ancelotti's representatives, who declined to comment.

The statement said that in his income tax filings, the Italian coach "omitted the income corresponding to the exploitation of his image rights that he had transferred to other entities."

"The Spanish Treasury calculated the loss incurred taking into account rents and income omitted and refunds obtained at €1,062,079 (€386,361 in fiscal year 2014 and €675,718 in fiscal year 2015)," the prosecutor added.

Ancelotti joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 before being dismissed in May 2015.

The former Chelsea and AC Milan coach returned to take the helm at the Spanish giants in June 2021. He recently signed a new contract with Los Blancos until June 2026.

Numerous players and coaches have been investigated by Spanish tax authorities over the past decade, often involving income from image rights.

In 2016, Lionel Messi was convicted of tax fraud and handed a fine to avoid a 21-month prison sentence.

Cristiano Ronaldo pleaded guilty to fraud in 2019 and agreed to pay a €19m fine.

That same year, Xabi Alonso was acquitted of fraud -- in a verdict which was ratified by Spain's Supreme Court in 2021 -- after the court found that he had not sought to hide income by transferring his image rights to an overseas company.

Information from ESPN's Alex Kirkland contributed to this report.

- Adriana Garcia

F1 BOSS BERNIE ECCLESTONE TO FACE FRAUD CHARGES ON A £400M ASSET ABROAD