US billionaire allegedly blackmailed by Chinese divorcee for over S$1.5 billion after affair

Wesley Edens, the billionaire owner of the Milwaukee Bucks (an American professional basketball team), was allegedly targeted in a months-long blackmail scheme by a woman prosecutors say demanded more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) after the pair had a sexual relationship.

According to The New York Post, Changli “Sophia” Luo, 46, has been charged with offences including blackmail and destruction of records.

She has pleaded not guilty.

Met through LinkedIn

According to federal prosecutors, the saga allegedly began in 2022 after Luo contacted Edens through LinkedIn.

Edens, 64, is also the co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and owns Aston Villa, an English football club.

The Daily Beast reported that Luo founded a Manhattan-based nonprofit organisation called One World Initiative Advocacy.

According to prosecutors, the pair met several times before allegedly having sex at Luo’s Manhattan apartment in June 2023.

Luo then allegedly sent Edens a message confessing her feelings.

“I never told you I love you, and tonight I want to tell you that,” she allegedly wrote, according to court filings.

“I do love you from the bottom of my heart.”

Prosecutors say threats escalated months later

Prosecutors claimed that Luo’s tone allegedly changed after Edens did not respond to her messages.

The New York Post reported that Luo allegedly began threatening to release explicit videos and photographs involving the pair unless she received money.

Federal prosecutors alleged she eventually demanded as much as US$1.2 billion (about S$1.53 billion), roughly half of Edens’ estimated US$2.5 billion (about S$3.19 billion) fortune.

“She would go to the media,” prosecutors said, unless Edens apologised.

“I am sure your family and business partners will learn about you and your misdeeds from these interviews and will provide exposure that will taint your record forever,” Luo allegedly wrote, according to court filings cited by The Daily Beast.

Prosecutors also alleged that Luo contacted Edens’ family members, former wife and investors as part of the campaign.

The Daily Beast further reported that Luo allegedly used a fake name to visit the doctor’s office where Edens’ then-girlfriend, who later became his wife, worked.

During the visit, she allegedly described Edens as a “terrible person.”

US$6.5 million (S$8.25 million) settlement allegedly discussed

According to court filings, Edens later agreed to mediation with Luo while continuing to deny wrongdoing.

The New York Post reported that Edens allegedly agreed to a settlement worth US$6.5 million (S$8.25 million), including an upfront payment of US$1 million (S$1.3 million).

However, prosecutors said Luo later attempted to renegotiate the agreement after allegedly discovering she had HPV, a sexually transmitted infection that can increase cancer risk.

According to prosecutors, she later demanded more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion).

The Daily Beast reported that Luo later hired a lawyer who allegedly warned Edens that she would “destroy” him if he did not “take responsibility.”

Luo’s current defence lawyer reportedly argued in court that she was being “unfairly prosecuted for aggressive posturing” during settlement negotiations.

FBI allegedly found hidden phones in apartment

According to the New York Post, FBI agents searched Luo’s apartment in May 2025.

Investigators allegedly found one phone hidden in a laundry basket and another concealed inside a box of sanitary pads.

Prosecutors said one of the devices contained pornographic images and videos with Edens’ face digitally edited onto another man’s body.

According to prosecutors, Luo was later arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport while allegedly attempting to board a flight to China.

She was released on a US$500,000 (S$635,000) bond and placed under home detention pending trial later this year.