Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s advisors were first suspicious, then shocked. In 2021, they signed an agreement with Astor Asset Management – a fund said to be connected to the American gilded-age family of the same name. Three years later, they suddenly discovered that their contact at the business, a man who presented himself as Gregory Mitchell, was in fact Vladimir ‘Val’ Sklarov: Ukrainian-born convicted white collar criminal with a proven track record of fraud and misrepresentation, and that his company had no link to the family whose name it bore.
Pliego became the latest – and by far the greatest – victim of Sklarov’s stock-backed loan fraud. He is now one of almost a dozen victims including Chinese paper manufacturer Chenming Paper Holdings, US water distribution business Two Rivers Water & Farming, and investment manager ZS Captial. Sklarov’s “clients” are estimated to have lost a combined billion dollars between them. Even more staggering than the amount, is Sklarov’s ability to keep getting away with the same scheme, over and over. How does he do it?
The answer lies in the international syndicate that he has built over the last decade. Following incarceration in the late 90s for Medicaid fraud, and a ruinous divorce over a decade later, Sklarov decided to get into stock-backed loans in 2014. Since then, Sklarov has developed, refined and evolved his approach, which has been slowly unravelled and exposed in the course of the many lawsuits levelled against him.
Throughout the course of his engagement, Sklarov will bring various associates and intermediaries in to the picture, helping to create a portrait of credibility and professionalism that only fades once his victims are left with nothing.
To kick things off, a third-party broker to make the introduction. One of Sklarov’s first loans in 2014 was to Brent Satterfield, co-founder of a Utah-based molecular diagnostics company. Satterfield was introduced to Sklarov (acting under the pseudonym of Mark Simon Bentley) by a New Jersey based broker. Salinas was roped in through a contact in Switzerland, who heard from a broker in London the wealthy American Astor family was lending.
Thus, Sklarov avoids making the approach directly – instead, his marks are led to him through third parties, adding credence to his gilded-age facades. His supposed funds have included names such as America 2030, Bentley Rothschild, and Astor Asset Management. In order to marshal these various “businesses” into a single cohesive scheme, Sklarov employs the help of Elizaveta Lata: a close relative and principal of at least 21 companies controlled by him – including the aforementioned Astor Asset Management, America 2030, and Bentley Rothschild. She is the first actor in a shadowy lineup that helps Sklarov spin his web of deceit.
Next, another close associate to gain credibility and reinforce the façade. As he plays the leading role, his understudy helps set the scene. When building the narrative around Astor Asset Management, Sklarov brought in convicted forger and thief Alexey Skachkov – introduced as Thomas Mellon, another purported member of an illustrious US dynasty.
Sklarov then takes centre stage. For his first call with Salinas’ advisors, Sklarov was sat aboard a private yacht, affecting an American accent that spoke to the identity he was trying to present and allude to.
Next come the regulated businesses that generate credibility. At this point, the illusion has been formed – but it is not complete. Any further doubts are then dissuaded through Sklarov’s connections to seemingly legitimate, regulated and registered intermediaries, who are meant to be custodians for the shares. Even if suspicion remains, it is pushed to the wayside by the thought that the provider of the loan does not have direct access to the assets pledged as collateral.
In Salinas’ case, the “custodians” and co-defendants – namely Bahamas registered Weiser Global Capital Markets, and UK-based Tavira, were allegedly allowed to move shares without scrutiny and oversight onto the open market, despite their legal obligations not to do so. Both still operate with impunity in their respective jurisdictions.
Yet, the once they leave the owner’s possession, the shares are as good as gone. The trusted custodians act as little more than waypoints for the shares on the way to their open market, with the proceeds from their sale being spirited away, and moved into private hands.
To bring the whole operation together: the lynchpin lawyer. This is where Sklarov’s longtime-trusted attorney, Jaitegh ‘J.T.’ Singh, comes into the picture. Singh, whose core practice areas include immigration, wills & trusts, general business support and commercial cannabis regulation, appears an unlikely choice of attorney for Sklarov. Yet he became his go-to choice for the counsel in the United States.
In Singh, Sklarov’s Walter White had found his Saul Goodman. And his support extended far beyond the courtroom. Singh’s client accounts would go on to serve as a key transit point for hundreds of millions of dollars as Sklarov’s empire grew and spiralled out of control. At one point, whilst scheming against Salinas, Singh’s client accounts held over $250,000,000 on behalf of Sklarov, as well as people and entities under his control.
In the course of their long and close association, Singh became a key confidant to Sklarov and his extended family – leading to him being listed as a legal advisor on a number of Sklarov’s extravagant purchases, including a chateau in Normandy, and a $13.5 million dollar yacht. Other property was purchased in the names of family members – including a home in Ekali, Athens, where Sklarov resides with his new wife, Tetyana. Her relative Ihor Ushenko is registered as the property’s owner.
In this manner, money would eventually dissipate into accounts around the world, registered in the names of his various children and relatives – making any attempt at recovery costly and time-consuming.
Pulling all of these strands together, Sklarov laid the blueprint for his financial cartel, moving onto bigger and bigger fish – until he bit off more than he could chew.
In the wrathful course of his legal retribution against Skarov, Salinas has succeeded in exposing the exact mechanics of the operation.
Finally: the extended family. The Sklarov clan have generally operated simply as beneficiaries, they have recently been utilised as weapons in his criminal empire. Salinas, seeking to recover his shares, has obtained a freezing order against all of Sklarov’s assets in the English High Courts. In lieu of the global UK order, there have been attempts to unfreeze some of the money – held in Tavira-linked accounts in Monaco – by parties linked to Sklarov, including Hannah and Asher Sklarov, two of his children from his first marriage.
As it stands, US citizen Sklarov is hiding in Greece, and his international cartel has ground to a halt. In November, a UK High Court summary judgment may kill it forever. Though a critical fact remains: Sklarov has been able to operate with almost full impunity for over a decade, despite repeated lawsuits and cases brought against him.
Will Sklarov be able to continue with his modus operandi, or has his gang finally met their nemesis?
