U.S. prosecutors accuse man of using the Astor family name in a $450 million fraud scheme

Thu, 07 May 2026 00:10:00 +0200

U.S. prosecutors have accused a man with multiple aliases of using the prestige of the Astor family name to carry out a large fraud against Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego. According to a newly unsealed indictment and related court records, the suspect allegedly created a fake lending business called Astor Asset Group and claimed it was linked to the wealthy New York Astor family to appear legitimate. Prosecutors say that in 2021, Salinas sought a $100 million loan backed by shares in one of his companies, and the alleged scheme convinced him to pledge stock worth at least $450 million as collateral.

The indictment says the man, identified as Vladimir Sklarov and also known as Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bentley, acted as the supposed managing director of the firm and helped persuade Salinas that the loan was real. Authorities allege that the shares were later sold without authorization, and that the proceeds were used in part to fund the loan while the rest was kept by