CHICAGO — A 63-year-old man with a history of using multiple aliases has been arrested in connection with a brazen fraud scheme that allegedly defrauded a prominent Mexican billionaire of around $450 million through a fake stock-backed loan operation, federal prosecutors announced this week.
Vladimir Sklarov, also known by the names Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bentley, was taken into custody in Chicago on Saturday following an indictment unsealed Monday by a federal grand jury in New York City. The charges stem from his role in establishing a sham company called Astor Asset Group, which he purported to be a legitimate lender tied to the historic wealth of New York's famed Astor family, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
The victim in the case is Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the billionaire founder of Mexico's Grupo Salinas, which encompasses major interests in television, retail, and banking. Although the indictment does not name Salinas directly, court records from related litigation in England and Salinas's own public statements confirm his involvement. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last year, Salinas expressed profound regret over the deception.
“I feel like an absolute idiot. How could I fall for this?” Salinas Pliego told the newspaper.
Sklarov, whose hometown is listed as Athens, Greece, but who is reportedly a Ukrainian-born American with a prior fraud conviction, allegedly orchestrated the scheme beginning in 2021. At that time, Salinas was seeking a $100 million loan to be secured by shares in one of his companies, valued at least at $450 million, prosecutors said. Posing as Gregory Mitchell, the "managing director" of Astor Asset Group, Sklarov and unnamed co-conspirators convinced Salinas that the firm was a reputable lender backed by the legacy of John Jacob Astor, the 19th-century fur trader and real estate mogul who was once America's richest man.
The conspirators went to great lengths to bolster their credibility, according to the indictment. They claimed Astor Asset Group had been founded on Astor family wealth and served high-profile clients such as universities and investment funds. One co-conspirator even used the alias Thomas Mellon, invoking another storied American dynasty known for its banking and industrial fortune.
By around July 2021, the parties had signed a deal under which Astor agreed to provide Salinas with at least $115 million in funding, supposedly sourced from Astor family resources. In exchange, Salinas pledged the company shares as collateral, with the explicit understanding that they would be held and not sold, federal prosecutors detailed in the court filing.
Instead, Sklarov and his associates quickly liquidated the shares, using a portion of the proceeds to fulfill the loan while pocketing the remaining hundreds of millions for themselves, the indictment alleges. This betrayal remained hidden from Salinas until July 2024, when he discovered the shares had been sold off. Just a day later, Astor sent him a letter falsely accusing him of defaulting on the loan, according to the document. Prosecutors noted that a month prior, in June 2024, Astor had incorrectly informed Salinas that it was entitled to sell the collateral.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York emphasized the deceptive tactics in a statement released Tuesday. “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,” Clayton said. “That was a complete lie. Sklarov used false prestige to gain control of hundreds of millions of dollars in stock and then liquidated those shares for his own benefit.”
Sklarov's arrest in Chicago marks a significant development in a case that has drawn international attention, given Salinas's stature in Latin American business circles. Salinas, whose net worth is estimated in the billions, controls Elefante Grupo Financiero, TV Azteca, and Elektra retail chain, making him one of Mexico's most influential tycoons. The fraud comes at a time when Salinas has been vocal in public forums, often using social media to opine on economic policies and criticize government interventions in his businesses.
The Astor family name, invoked here to lend an air of legitimacy, carries deep historical resonance in American finance. John Jacob Astor built his fortune through the American Fur Company and vast Manhattan real estate holdings in the early 1800s, amassing what would be equivalent to tens of billions today. Later generations, including those involved in the Titanic tragedy, solidified the family's image as symbols of old money and philanthropy. Prosecutors allege that Sklarov cynically exploited this heritage to perpetrate one of the largest individual frauds in recent memory.
Details of Sklarov's background add layers to the story. According to The Wall Street Journal, the suspect is a U.S. citizen born in Ukraine who has a documented history of fraudulent activities. While specifics of his prior conviction were not detailed in the indictment, it underscores a pattern of deceptive behavior that federal authorities say enabled him to pull off this elaborate con.
In Chicago federal court, where Sklarov made his initial appearance, a public defender has been appointed to represent him. Efforts to reach the attorney for comment on Tuesday were unsuccessful, as phone and email messages went unanswered. A detention hearing is set for Friday, during which prosecutors are expected to argue for Sklarov's continued custody pending trial in New York.
The case highlights vulnerabilities in high-stakes private lending, particularly when collateral involves publicly traded securities. Legal experts note that while stock-backed loans are common for wealthy individuals needing liquidity without selling assets, the involvement of opaque entities like Astor Asset Group raises red flags. In this instance, the scheme's success reportedly hinged on the victim's trust in the firm's fabricated pedigree, a tactic reminiscent of classic confidence tricks but scaled to extraordinary financial proportions.
Salinas's confirmation of the loss last year prompted civil actions in England, where court documents first publicly linked him to the victim. Those filings, combined with the U.S. criminal probe, suggest a multinational effort to recover assets and hold perpetrators accountable. No information was available Tuesday on whether any of the liquidated shares' proceeds have been traced or frozen.
As the investigation unfolds, questions linger about the full extent of the conspiracy. The indictment references other unnamed co-conspirators, including the individual using the Mellon alias, but provides no further details on their identities or locations. Federal authorities in New York have indicated that the probe remains active, potentially leading to additional charges.
For Salinas, the episode represents a rare public setback for a man accustomed to dominating Mexico's business landscape. His outspoken nature—critiquing everything from tax policies to media regulations—has made him a polarizing figure, but this fraud underscores the risks even savvy investors face in opaque financial dealings. As one anonymous source close to the matter told The Appleton Times, “It's a reminder that no one is immune to a well-crafted lie, especially when it wears the mask of prestige.”
Looking ahead, the outcome of Sklarov's case could influence how private lenders verify credentials in future transactions. With a trial likely months away, the Southern District of New York's fraud unit will aim to dismantle what prosecutors describe as a sophisticated operation preying on the elite. For now, Sklarov remains in custody, his web of aliases no longer shielding him from justice.