Political Consultant Allegedly Hired by Immigrant Scammer

Notorious Republican political consultant Jeff Roe was reportedly engaged by an undocumented immigrant involved in a scam, aiming to create a media and political influence campaign before his sentencing, as detailed in court documents examined by the Daily Caller.

Siddharth Jawahar allegedly agreed to pay Roe’s Axiom Strategies $10,000 for favorable media coverage leading up to his sentencing, according to prosecutors.

Roe reportedly promised to help “obtain approximately one to two advocacy-oriented publications, articles, opinion pieces,” and had personal discussions about the strategy with Jawahar during a recorded phone call from jail.

Jawahar, an Indian national who has been living illegally in the United States since 2005, has defrauded investors of tens of millions of dollars. He pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in January and received an 11-year prison sentence.

One former Axiom employee expressed surprise at the dollar amount involved, remarking, “I was like, ‘Are you serious? For 10 Gs?’”

Another ex-consultant noted, “At the end of the day, Jeff has no loyalty other than the money.”

Jawahar’s attorney claimed that Jawahar never actually paid Roe or Axiom as part of the agreement.

Shortly after Jawahar allegedly made the agreement with Roe’s firm, Missouri Republican Rep. Sam Graves wrote a letter to U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone, advocating for a much lighter sentence of just four years for the convicted fraudster.

This letter from Graves came only three days after a recorded jail call in which Jawahar asked Roe if there was a political figure ready to support him with a letter to the judge.

As for Graves’ office, they did not respond to inquiries for comments from the Caller.

During the call with Roe, Jawahar explicitly discussed plans to influence the judge by generating positive stories in the local media. Roe even mentioned he would “put a little money around it and geofence [the judge’s] house,” as per the transcripts.

Jawahar also shared his attorney Douglas Passon’s reservations about the public relations effort potentially appearing “overly calculated.” Jawahar reflected on this concern, admitting it could backfire since, well, it obviously seemed pretty calculated.

Shortly after hiring Roe’s firm, a favorable profile of Jawahar was published in the Jefferson City News Tribune, which highlighted his “philanthropic efforts” while incarcerated. Strangely, it entirely overlooked the fraud that landed him in such a dire situation.

One former Axiom employee commented on Roe’s actions, saying, “As a general matter, unethical behavior is not a surprise to me.”

Jawahar’s Texas-based investment company, Swiftarc Capital LLC, falsely informed investors about its profitability and misrepresented investments. From July 2016 to December 2023, Jawahar took over $35 million from investors while investing only about $10 million.

Ultimately, Jawahar was sentenced to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $31 million in restitution to his victims, including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

The campaign to reduce Jawahar’s sentence was unsuccessful, with Judge Bluestone stating that “the plot was unsuccessful.”

Roe is known for his ties to significant figures and campaigns within the Republican Party. His firm has worked with various high-profile campaigns, including Ken Paxton’s current Senate bid. Roe also previously managed Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign in 2016, consulted for Mike Huckabee in 2008, and led a pro-Ron DeSantis PAC during the 2024 election.

A source familiar with Paxton’s campaign clarified to the Caller that while Axiom did take on Paxton as a client, Roe himself was not directly involved.

Efforts to reach Roe for a comment on this matter were unsuccessful.