Feds say woman tried to extort NBA team owner with fake sex videos after one-night stand
Allegation of a targeted sexual blackmail plot Milwaukee Bucks The move backfired on company co-owner Wes Edens after he learned that the Chinese climate activist accused of blackmailing him had a sexually transmitted disease and demanded more money, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege Changli “Sophia” Luo demanded as much as $1 billion, then reduced it to $50 million, threatened to “destroy” the billionaire investor with fabricated sexually explicit images and reported him to authorities.
He was arrested last year at John F. Kennedy International Airport with a one-way ticket back to his hometown. ChineseAccording to court documents.
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Bail filings show his $500,000 bond was secured by a man named Robin Mui. New York Post On Wednesday he identified himself as the executive of a U.S.-based newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party.
But his defense team says he is not a flight risk after surrendering his passport.
Luo is the founder of the One World Initiative, a New York-based nonprofit focused on “climate change, economic development, world health” and other issues, according to LinkedIn. The nonprofit’s website was not accessible Wednesday, but archived versions call for “net zero emissions by 2050” and describe climate change as “the number one challenge facing humanity.”
64-year-old Edens is a billionaire Wall Street Investor and part owner of the Bucks.
Former Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Wes Edens watch Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 23, 2019.
(Getty Images)
“In or about May 2024, LUO sent two letters to Victim-1 via iMessage, accusing Victim-1 of, among other things, ‘misleading’ LUO into having sex with her and, alternatively, having sex while LUO was mentally disabled or intellectually impaired,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
“The LNA stated in these letters that its ‘home’ cameras,’and this'[e]much [Victim-1] “If Victim-1 does not apologize, the LNA will expose it to the ‘mass media’.”
The two initially reached a nearly $6 million settlement before discovering he had HPV, according to a court filing by one of them. defense lawyersArthur Aidala.
opened a file motion to dismiss He alleged in last month’s lawsuit that his previous civil attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, mishandled settlement negotiations and made threats against Edens.
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Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens before a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on January 19, 2022.
Luo used Blackburn to find a new solution with much higher payouts; At first it was more than $1 billion, then dropped to $50 million, according to the filing. Now his criminal defense team alleges Blackburn’s behavior during settlement negotiations included threats to “destroy” Edens.
In the motion to dismiss, Luo’s defense argued that Blackburn made the most aggressive statements but was not charged.
In an impassioned email to Fox News Digital, Blackburn disputed many of the defense team’s arguments.
“Sophia Luo’s attorney is attempting to distract from the evidence by using me as a scapegoat for behavior that occurred before I was involved,” he wrote.
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Brightline founder and Chairman Wes Edens and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speak after the first pile was driven during the groundbreaking ceremony at the Brightline West Las Vegas station on April 22, 2024.
He claimed that the most damaging evidence predated his involvement, including “fabricated AI videos, fake medical records, fake non-profit claims, fake commercial websites, threats involving one’s children and family, and escalating monetary demands of $1 billion, $750 million, $500 million, $250 million, and $175 million.”
Blackburn also said he warned Luo about his behavior.
“His attorney may also want to ask his clients that I never filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Edens — despite the many warnings I gave him and despite Mr. Edens’ persistent requests,” he wrote.
It ended with a challenge.
“If their lawyers believe my behavior is relevant to their defense, they should subpoena me,” he added. “I will gladly appear, testify under oath, and answer every question honestly.”
Wes Edens, co-founder of Fortress Investment Group, arrives at the Sun Valley lodge for the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 8, 2025 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
During the second negotiations, Luo allegedly made the following threats:
“Luo was determined to ‘destroy’ Victim-1 if Victim-1 did not take ‘responsibility,’” prosecutors wrote. “LUO had multiple cameras in the apartment where the Sexual Encounter occurred, and LUO had at least two videos and photographs of the Sexual Encounter, which he would make available to others in the absence of resolution.”
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He is also accused of threatening to report him to federal investigators for allegedly bribing government officials.
But federal prosecutors allege there was an elaborate scheme to not only bring down Edens but also hide evidence. FBI.
“On April 5, 2025, before the search warrants went into effect in May [2025]The defendant claimed that he knew the following by searching on Google for the name of one of the Assistant US Attorneys who handled this case: federal law enforcement “We had been investigating him ever since,” prosecutors wrote in a bail filing.
When agents arrived at his Manhattan apartment with a search warrant, he allegedly ignored their calls, texts and knocking until a building maintenance worker let them in. The search revealed several mobile phones, one hidden in dirty laundry, another with sanitary pads and digital drives, and had allegedly edited photographs showing Edens’ face on another man’s body during sexual activities.
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According to court documents, the two first met in 2022 after Luo reached out to Edens on LinkedIn.
They went on a few dates and then had sex at her apartment.
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After that, prosecutors claimed, the woman confessed her love for him in a text message.
“I never told you that I loved you, and tonight I want to tell you that I restrained my feelings for you,” he said in a quote quoted in court documents. “Just like I love you from the bottom of my heart!”
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Edens did not respond. A few months later, she reached out again but he ignored her. He then allegedly showed up at his new girlfriend’s job using a fake name, claiming she had forced him to have an abortion and that she was a “horrible and terrible person” whom he compared to himself. jeffrey epsteinAccording to court documents.
The judge has not yet ruled on Luo’s request to dismiss the case.
Original article source: Feds say woman tried to blackmail NBA team owner with fake sex videos after one-night stand
