A woman who prosecutors say used LinkedIn to find wealthy men pleaded guilty Tuesday in Manhattan federal court to fraud tied to a plot to extort more than $1.2 billion from three victims, one of whom is reportedly Fortress Investment Group co-founder Wes Edens.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI deeply regret engaging in this conduct, and I knew that my conduct was wrong, and I accept responsibility for it,\u201d Changli \u201cSophia\u201d Luo told U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, according to a court transcript viewed by Bloomberg. She faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing in February. A trial had originally been set to start on Nov. 16 prior to the guilty plea.<\/p>\n
Court documents reviewed by Fortune<\/em> call one of the targets \u201cVictim-1\u201d and don\u2019t name him. Bloomberg, citing a person with direct knowledge, reported that he is Edens. An Edens spokesperson declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal<\/em> and other news outlets have also identified the victim as Edens, who co-owns the NBA\u2019s Milwaukee Bucks and the Aston Villa soccer team in England.<\/p>\nThe account below comes from the complaint, indictments and filings by prosecutors and Luo\u2019s lawyers. They set out the government\u2019s allegations, which Luo\u2019s lawyers had disputed before her plea. The documents say Victim-1 denies Luo\u2019s allegations against him. Luo\u2019s lawyer didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
From LinkedIn to a mediator<\/strong><\/h2>\nLuo cold-messaged Victim-1 on LinkedIn in November 2022 to discuss a business endeavor, according to the court documents. After a handful of meetings, the two had a sexual encounter at her midtown Manhattan apartment in June 2023.<\/p>\n
Several days after that, prosecutors say, Luo texted Victim-1 a letter professing her love, though she had met him in person no more than three times. In the weeks and months that followed, they say her messages turned from flattering to threatening.<\/p>\n
In May 2024, she sent letters accusing him of misleading her into sex or, alternatively, of having sex with her while she was mentally incapacitated. They said her home had cameras and that \u201c[e]verything [Victim-1] did was caught on camera.\u201d The letters threatened to give said videos to \u201cmass media\u201d unless he apologized. <\/p>\n
Victim-1 told prosecutors he agreed to mediation because he believed it would spare his family harassment and public embarrassment, the documents say. In August 2024 he agreed to pay \u201cseveral million dollars\u201d and made an initial payment.<\/p>\n
The documents allege that, starting that November, Luo demanded more through the mediator: at least $900 million, rising to $1.215 billion by January 2025, with threats to report criminal acts to \u201cgovernment offices.\u201d<\/p>\n
On March 29, 2025, her lawyer relayed a new demand of $50 million, according to an email exchange cited in the complaint. If Victim-1 did not take \u201cresponsibility,\u201d the message said, Luo was determined to \u201cdestroy\u201d him. She had at least two videos and pictures of the encounter, it added, and would go to \u201ccriminal investigators,\u201d his business partners and \u201cthe federal government.\u201d Victim-1 did not pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cLater that same day, Luo\u2019s attorney confirmed the accuracy of what Luo had instructed him to convey to Victim-1\u2019s attorney,\u201d court documents read. \u201cLuo\u2019s attorney also conveyed that Luo wanted Victim-1 to know that she wished to bring pain to Victim-1\u2019s children. Victim-1 did not accede to Luo\u2019s extortionate demands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prosecutors allege images on her devices were altered. On the day of the $50 million demand, a WeChat chat on one of her phones shows pornographic images arriving and being sent back with Victim-1\u2019s face grafted on, the complaint says. Forensic examination indicated she made the edits that day, prosecutors wrote.<\/p>\n
Search and arrest<\/strong><\/h2>\nFBI agents arrived with a search warrant at about 6:10 a.m. on May 28, 2025, according to the complaint. It says they called her 15 times, texted her and knocked, and she did not answer. After about 20 minutes, agents entered with a key from building staff.<\/p>\n
Once in, prosecutors allege she tried to hide evidence. One phone was layered between dirty clothes in a bathroom hamper. A dog trained to detect electronics then alerted law enforcement of a package of sanitary pads, where agents found a purple iPhone and two flash drives. The purple phone held the altered images, the complaint says. The indictment also alleges she deleted incriminating photographs and videos from a phone after learning of the investigation.<\/p>\n
Court records show Luo was arrested June 14, 2025. Her release conditions included home detention with GPS monitoring, a ban on using WeChat, and orders to avoid contact with Victim-1 or his family outside her lawyers\u2019 presence.<\/p>\n
In February of this year, Luo\u2019s lawyers asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that prosecutors were criminalizing settlement talks. They said her demands came through a mediator or a lawyer and were tied to a claim for \u201ca permanent injury.\u201d Prosecutors replied that whether conduct was wrongful, and whether she had a legitimate claim, are questions for a jury.<\/p>\n
Two other men<\/strong><\/h2>\nSome charges involve a \u201cVictim-2\u201d and \u201cVictim-3,\u201d and include device fraud and identity theft. Prosecutors allege Luo lured men into relationships \u201cfor the primary purpose of stealing their money and property.\u201d They say Victim-2 bought her a $2,000 MacBook after drinks, that she photographed his credit card, and that weeks later she made a $4,500 Apple Store purchase on it. Luo asked the court to try those counts separately, but prosecutors opposed it.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say Luo cold-called Victim-3 claiming to be soliciting donations for her \u201csupposed non-profit.\u201d After a few dates, she asked him to buy her a luxury coat, and in December 2023, he agreed to a roughly $6,000 one. She then asked him to buy her a first-class ticket to China for about $12,000, prosecutors say. When he offered a coach fare instead, she became angry and demanded about $50,000 in spending money, which he refused. Prosecutors say she also asked Victim-2 for $50,000 to $100,000 for a \u201cbusiness opportunity,\u201d and he refused too.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said in a filing that they would use notes from Luo\u2019s electronic devices to show she intended to use men to fund her lifestyle. One 2023 entry assigned \u201cbills and grocery money\u201d to one man, they said, with other entries for \u201cmeals,\u201d \u201crent,\u201d \u201cconnections\u201d and \u201cbuilding a house.\u201d At least one 2023 entry mentions Victim-1 and Victim-2 together. Prosecutors wrote that Luo \u201cdoes not appear to have had any legitimate income at that time\u201d and that, in demanding more than $1 billion, she falsely claimed Victim-1 was her only sexual partner during a certain period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Woman #pleads #guilty #billion #plot #targeting #Bucks #coowner #Fortress #cofounder #Wes #Edens<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A woman who prosecutors say us… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[432,10025,4155,10026,4508,10029,10027,719,4514,1622,2216,10024,327,1768,10028,3348],"class_list":["post-6902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-billion","tag-bucks","tag-cofounder","tag-coowner","tag-crime","tag-edens","tag-fortress","tag-fraud","tag-guilty","tag-law","tag-pleads","tag-plot","tag-sports","tag-targeting","tag-wes","tag-woman"],"yoast_head":"\n
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