Man accused in stealing $450 million from Mexican billionaire

A Ukrainian-born American man has been charged with scamming a Mexican billionaire out of $450 million in a loan scheme. 

Newly unsealed court documents reveal Vladimir Sklarov, 63, set up a fake company called Astor Asset Group and claimed to give the victim shares of his company in exchange for a loan. He later cashed in for half a billion dollars. 

What we know:

Sklarov, who also went by the names of Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bently, named the sham company he created Astor Asset Group, named after John Jacob Astor, one of America’s wealthiest figures of the 19th century. 

The victim, Mexican TV, retail and banking magnate Ricardo Salinas Pliego, was not named in the indictment that was released this week, but he confirmed to the Wall Street Journal last year that he was indeed scammed by the Astor Asset Group. 

The scam

The backstory:

In 2021, Salinas sought to obtain a $100 million loan he wanted to secure with shares of a company he owned. According to the indictment, Sklarov, using the name Greory Mitchell, claimed he was the “managing director” of Astor and convinced Salinas he was willing and able to provide the loan. 

Sklarov claimed he had additional high-profile clients including universities and investment funds, according to prosecutors. He then agreed to lend Salinas at least $115 million, telling him the money came from the Astor family. Salinas secured the loan with company shares worth at least $450 million, which he sold off for a profit. 

Prosecutors say it wasn’t until three years later that Salinas learned the shares had been liquidated. The Astor Asset Group told Salinas they had the right to sell the shares because they claimed he defaulted on the loan. 

What they’re saying:

“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,” Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “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.”

The other side:

Sklarov’s whose hometown is listed as Athens, Greece, was arrested in Chicago on Saturday after being indicted by a federal grand jury in New York. 

According to court documents, he has a detention hearing scheduled for Friday.