A man with multiple aliases has been charged in the United States with defrauding a Mexican billionaire of approximately $450m through a sham loan company that falsely claimed links to the famous Astor family.
The victim was Ricardo Salinas Pliego, a Mexican television, retail and banking magnate, who confirmed the fraud in an interview with The Wall Street Journal last year. “I feel like an absolute idiot. How could I fall for this?” he told the newspaper.
According to a newly unsealed indictment, Vladimir Sklarov, 63, also known as Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bentley, set up Astor Asset Group, which purported to be a legitimate lender backed by the Astor family. In 2021, Sklarov agreed to lend Salinas at least $115m, secured by company shares worth $450m that were supposed to be held but not sold. Instead, Sklarov sold the shares and kept the proceeds.
Sklarov was arrested in Chicago on Saturday. A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday. US Attorney Jay Clayton said: “As alleged, Vladimir Sklarov represented his company to be affiliated with, and have the financial backing of the famed New York Astor family in order to burnish his brand. That was a complete lie.”
