A former Lake Forest homeowner with a federal fraud record is back in custody in Chicago, accused of running a global stock-backed lending scheme that prosecutors say bled a billionaire of more than $450 million. Federal agents arrested the man this week, and he is being held in a downtown federal lockup while a judge decides whether to send him to New York to face the charges. Public records tie him to a 7,000-square-foot house in Lake Forest and show he has a prior federal fraud conviction.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, an indictment unsealed Tuesday charges Vladimir Sklarov, who has used the aliases “Gregory Mitchell” and “Mark Simon Bentley,” with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors say Sklarov ran an outfit called Astor Asset Group that pretended to be backed by the famed Astor family, persuading a victim to transfer company stock as collateral, then selling off those shares and diverting the cash. Sklarov was presented to a magistrate judge in Chicago on May 4, 2026, and the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan.
Alleged scheme targeted Ricardo Salinas Pliego
Prosecutors say the victim in the alleged scheme is Mexican tycoon Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who reportedly pledged about $400 million in Grupo Elektra stock as collateral in a 2021 financing deal. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, an intermediary using the name “Gregory Mitchell” offered roughly $115 million to boost Salinas’ cryptocurrency investments. Prosecutors allege that after gaining control of the pledged shares, the intermediary sold them off, leaving Salinas with losses the government estimates at more than $450 million. The Sun-Times notes that other reporting has quoted Salinas saying he felt “like an idiot” for entering into the arrangement.
Lake Forest property and state court records
State court filings show Sklarov bought a 7,000-square-foot brick home in Lake Forest in 2014, then stopped making payments, prompting First Bank of Highland Park to sue for foreclosure. An Illinois appellate opinion confirms that in 2019 the bank was awarded the property after the court determined Sklarov was living overseas, Justia shows. The mortgage case and related litigation leave a clear local paper trail, even as prosecutors describe the alleged stock scheme as international in reach.
Earlier conviction in Pittsburgh
Records cited by the Chicago Sun-Times show Sklarov was convicted in federal court in Pittsburgh in 1998 of defrauding Medicare of roughly $18 million. He was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay about $14 million in restitution. Prosecutors in that case said he led a conspiracy to bill Medicare for noncovered surgical dressings and a skin cleaner. Those earlier findings are part of why authorities say the latest allegations fit into a pattern of claimed deception.
What the charges mean
The current indictment includes counts that each carry potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Officials emphasize that the charges are allegations and that Sklarov is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. A hearing in Chicago will determine whether he is transferred to New York to stand trial, and prosecutors say the case has been assigned to the office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Local and federal authorities say they plan to keep working together as the criminal investigation and related civil cases move forward.
