A man known by several names has allegedly used the renowned Astor family lineage to trick a Mexican billionaire out of approximately $450 million through a fraudulent stock loan scheme, according to a recently revealed indictment in the U.S. and other legal documents.
Vladimir Sklarov, 63, who also goes by Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bentley, created a fictitious company called Astor Asset Group. He claimed to be a reliable loan provider with connections to the Astors, as stated by federal prosecutors.
The Astor family includes John Jacob Astor, notable as one of the richest individuals in America during the mid-1800s.
The unsealed indictment, published on Monday, does not explicitly name the victim; however, British court documents reveal him to be Ricardo Salinas Priego, an influential figure in television, retail, and banking in Mexico.
Salinas had previously admitted in a Wall Street Journal interview that he was misled by Astor Asset Group, expressing dismay about his situation. “I feel like a total idiot. How could I fall into this?” he remarked.
On Saturday, Sklarov was apprehended in Chicago based on a federal grand jury indictment filed in New York City, according to prosecutors. A detention hearing is set for Friday in federal court in Chicago, as noted in court documents.
Sklarov’s public defender in Chicago did not respond promptly to inquiries made via phone and email.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, stated, “As alleged, Sklarov received financial backing from the famous Astor family to present and promote his partner companies.” He characterized this as a complete deception, claiming Sklarov leveraged false prestige to unlawfully acquire hundreds of millions in stocks, which he then liquidated for personal gain.
According to the indictment, Salinas requested a $100 million loan in 2021, planning to secure it with shares of a company he owned. Prosecutors assert that Sklarov, under the alias Gregory Mitchell and claiming to be Astor’s “managing director,” along with unnamed accomplices, persuaded Salinas that Astor was prepared to provide the loan.
One collaborator went by the name Thomas Mellon, which also ties back to a wealthy American family.
Prosecutors outlined that Sklarov and his associates convinced Salinas that Astor was established with the wealth of John Jacob Astor and had notable clients, such as universities and investment firms.
In a contract dated around July 2021, Sklarov agreed to lend Salinas a minimum of $115 million, asserting that the funds would come from the Astor family.
Salinas backed the loan with approximately $450 million worth of company stock he supposedly owned but never sold.
Subsequently, Sklarov sold shares of the company, utilizing part of the proceeds to fund the loan to Salinas while appropriating the remaining hundreds of millions for himself and his co-conspirators, as per federal prosecutors.
In July 2024, Salinas discovered that the company’s stock had been liquidated.
The very next day, he received a misleading letter from Astor claiming he had defaulted on the loan. A month earlier, prosecutors noted, Astor had falsely informed Salinas that he had the authorization to sell the stock.
Authorities indicate that Sklarov hails from Athens, Greece. Reports suggest that he is originally from Ukraine and has a history of fraud convictions.
