Man Arrested in U.S for Stealing $450 Million from Mexican Billionaire Using Fake Astor Family Loan Firm

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Vladimir Sklarov, 63, also known as Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bentley, was arrested in Chicago after a federal grand jury in New York indicted him for defrauding Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego through a fake company called Astor Asset Group. In 2021, Salinas sought a $100 million loan, securing it with company shares worth at least $450 million. Sklarov falsely claimed the wealthy Astor family backed the firm and agreed to lend Salinas at least $115 million. Sklarov then sold the shares, used part of the money to fund the loan, and kept the remaining hundreds of millions. Salinas only discovered the shares had been sold in July 2024, after which Astor falsely claimed he had defaulted. A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday in Chicago federal court.

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