A Mexican billionaire was deceived into giving away more than $450 million after being defrauded by a man who concocted a scheme linked to the famous Astor family, prosecutors allege.
The Scheme Unfolds
Ricardo Salinas Pliego was looking to invest in bitcoin, and he set about borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars from banks in exchange for $1 billion in stock as collateral, the Wall Street Journal reported. He took out three loans from banks he had been in contact with previously and then dealt with a fourth lender who purported to be linked to the wealthy Astor family.
A Swiss adviser reportedly connected Salinas Pliego with a man named Gregory Mitchell from the Astor Capital Fund. However, 'Mitchell' was actually Vladimir Sklarov, a 63-year-old Ukrainian-born American and convicted fraudster. He has reportedly previously spent time in prison for an $18 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Salinas Pliego's team reportedly held a video call with a man who claimed to be Thomas Astor Mellon, the head of Astor Capital and a descendant of the Astor family. John Jacob Astor was the richest man in the United States during the Gilded Age. His legacy can be seen all over New York City, after he bequeathed what became the public library and is the namesake for Waldorf Astoria hotels. He died during the Titanic sinking disaster in 1912.
However, the man pretending to be Astor Mellon was allegedly a Georgian criminal named Alexey Skachkov.
The Loan Agreement
Salinas Pliego eventually signed an agreement for a $115 million loan in exchange for $400 million worth of stock. The billionaire didn't become wise to the scheme until three years later - at which point his stock was liquidated while Mellon and Mitchell seemingly disappeared.
'I feel like an absolute idiot. How could I fall for this?' Salinas Pliego later said in an interview.
Legal Proceedings
Sklarov denies fraud, and claimed to the Wall Street Journal that he 'never said or alluded to the Astor family.' Lawyers tracked Sklarov down in Greece where he was living. Sklarov was indicted in New York and is now being held in federal jail in Chicago. He was charged last week with defrauding Salinas Pliego out of more than $450 million, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The Daily Mail has contacted the US Attorney's Office for comment.
