Today's Wall Street Journal Exclusive: The Shocking $1.2 Billion Extortion Case

@Kevin in New York: "Today's Wall Street Journal exclusive: The shocking $1.2 billion extortion case. American billionaire extorted by Chinese-born New York entrepreneur Changli 'Sophia' Luo." The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported exclusively in its weekend edition on the 10th that Wesley Edens, the billionaire owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, replied to a LinkedIn message from a Chinese-born female entrepreneur in 2022, which ultimately escalated into a criminal case involving extortion of over $1.2 billion.

The woman is 46-year-old Changli "Sophia" Luo. After her divorce, she lived in Manhattan, New York, and founded the nonprofit organization "One World Initiative Advocacy," claiming to specialize in producing interview videos with economists and environmental experts.

Edens had recently divorced at the time. As the co-founder of the Wall Street investment firm Fortress Investment Group, he was known for making contrarian investments. He invested heavily in subprime loans after the 2008-09 financial crisis, spent billions building a private passenger railroad in Florida, and bought the struggling Premier League team Aston Villa in 2018.

According to prosecutors, after Edens and Luo had a one-night stand at her Manhattan apartment in June 2023, Luo sent him a love letter that read: "I never told you I love you. Tonight I want to tell you that I have been suppressing my feelings for you, and I truly love you from the bottom of my heart!" But Edens did not respond.

After that, Luo's emotions took a sharp turn, and she launched a months-long extortion campaign. She demanded Edens pay over $1.2 billion, equivalent to about half of his roughly $2.5 billion net worth, and threatened to release videos and photos of them having sex.

Her threatening actions continued for months, including contacting Edens's family, telling him she would find investors to pressure him, and vowing to ruin him.

Luo was indicted last year by federal prosecutors on four counts, including extortion and destruction of evidence. She denied all charges. She is currently out on $500,000 bail and under house arrest, and is expected to stand trial later this year.

The 64-year-old Edens had not previously been publicly identified as the victim, but after being contacted by the Wall Street Journal, his spokesperson confirmed he is the victim in the case. The spokesperson stated that Edens went to the police to protect the safety of himself and his family, and will testify at the trial.

Prosecutors pointed out that Luo used a fake name to enter the clinic where Edens's then-girlfriend (now wife) worked, telling her that she had a sexual relationship with Edens. She also contacted Edens's ex-wife. Months later, Luo wrote again, accusing Edens of having sex with her while she was in a poor mental state, and told him, "There are surveillance cameras in my house" and "Everything you did was recorded."

She threatened Edens that if he did not apologize, she would hand the videos over to the media, warning: "I believe your family and business partners will learn of your actions from these interviews, and your reputation will be ruined forever."

Although Edens denied the accusations, to avoid continued harassment and humiliation for his family, he agreed to participate in a Zoom mediation presided over by a former judge, ultimately agreeing to pay a $6.5 million settlement.

After the settlement, Luo claimed she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease. Her lawyer stated she blamed Edens and attempted to renegotiate, demanding $1.215 billion in compensation.

In May of last year, when the FBI searched Luo's Manhattan apartment, they found hidden cellphones in a laundry basket and a box of tampons. One of the phones contained pornographic videos and photos with Edens's face superimposed onto other men.

On June 14 of last year, Luo was arrested by U.S. law enforcement at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as she was about to board a flight to China.