Republican political consultant Jeff Roe was retained by convicted fraudster Siddharth Jawahar to mount a media and political influence effort ahead of sentencing, according to prosecutors and court documents reviewed by the Daily Caller. The Caller reports Jawahar agreed to pay Roe’s firm, Axiom Strategies, $10,000 to help secure favorable coverage.
What the jail calls captured
According to jail-call transcripts described by the Caller, Roe agreed to help obtain “one to two advocacy-oriented” pieces and personally discussed the plan with Jawahar. During one recorded call, the Caller reports, Jawahar talked about trying to “influence the judge,” and Roe said he would “put a little money around it and geofence [the judge’s] house.”
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Jawahar’s attorney, Douglas Passon, denied that Jawahar ever actually paid Roe or Axiom under the agreement, per the Caller.
A congressman’s letter days later
Within days of the alleged agreement, Missouri Republican Rep. Sam Graves sent U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone a letter urging a four-year sentence for Jawahar, according to the Caller. The outlet says Graves signed the letter three days after Jawahar asked Roe on a recorded call whether he had found a political figure to write to the judge. Graves’ office did not respond to the Caller’s request for comment.
Local profile, no mention of the fraud
Also within days, the Jefferson City News Tribune ran a positive profile of Jawahar’s “philanthropic efforts” behind bars, attributing them to an “instinctive commitment to civic service, education, and community involvement,” the Caller noted. The profile did not mention the fraud case that led to his imprisonment.
The case outcome
Jawahar, an Indian national who the Caller reports has lived in the U.S. illegally since 2005, pleaded guilty in January to three counts of wire fraud tied to his Texas-based firm, Swiftarc Capital LLC. From July 2016 through December 2023, he took more than $35 million from investors but invested only about $10 million, according to the Caller’s summary of the case. Judge Bluestone sentenced Jawahar to 11 years in prison and ordered more than $31 million in restitution to victims, including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the Caller reported. The judge said “the plot was unsuccessful,” per the outlet.
Inside the $10,000 plan—and pushback
Former Axiom employees interviewed by the Caller questioned the reported $10,000 figure behind the alleged plan and criticized Roe’s involvement. One former consultant told the outlet, “At the end of the day, Jeff has no loyalty other than the money.” Roe did not respond to the Caller’s request for comment.
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Roe’s campaign pedigree
The Caller notes Roe managed Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign, consulted on Mike Huckabee’s 2008 run, and led a pro–Ron DeSantis PAC in the 2024 cycle.
