Plea also resolves allegations involving two additional victims
The 46-year-old China-born entrepreneur Changli “Sophia” Luo pleaded guilty Tuesday in Manhattan federal court to wire fraud, admitting she defrauded billionaire Wesley Edens — co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks — along with two other men through schemes that leveraged sexual encounters, false recording claims, and threats of public exposure.
In her plea, Luo acknowledged telling Edens she had recorded a sexual encounter at her home and using that threat to try to obtain money from him. Edens, 64, is not named in court filings and is identified only as “Victim-1.” The Wall Street Journal reported in May that Edens was the unnamed victim in the case.
Prosecutors said Luo first reached out to Edens on LinkedIn and met him in person several times before attempting to extort him by threatening to publicize videos and photographs of their encounter. In one message cited in court documents, Luo wrote that “business partners will learn about you and your misdeeds from these interviews.” Prosecutors said she also contacted Edens’s current wife and ex-wife and threatened media exposure.
Federal agents arrested Luo in 2025 at John F. Kennedy International Airport as she was attempting to board a flight to China. An Edens spokesman previously said the billionaire had reached out to law enforcement out of concern for the safety of himself and his family.
A superseding indictment in June expanded the case to two additional victims, both of whom prosecutors said were defrauded through schemes that also used sexual encounters as leverage. In court on Tuesday, Luo admitted to the allegations involving all three men.
With the second victim, prosecutors said, Luo went on a date in Manhattan and offered sex in exchange for the man buying her a $2,000 Apple computer. Afterward, she secretly photographed his credit card and used it for a $4,500 online purchase from Apple. Prosecutors said she met the third victim after cold-calling him to solicit donations for a nonprofit Luo had founded — a Manhattan-based organization that, according to its public description, produced video interviews with economists and environmentalists.
The plea resolves six other criminal counts Luo had faced. Those included charges that she tried to extort more than $1 billion from Edens and had stolen credit-card information from two other romantic partners. Under the agreement, Luo will pay $2 million in financial penalties.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 26. Prosecutors and defense lawyers told the court that a sentence between three and four years in prison would be appropriate. Defense attorney Arthur Aidala said Luo had concluded, after “considerable discussion with family and friends,” that accepting responsibility was “in everyone’s best interest.”
In court, Luo said: “I deeply regret engaging in this conduct, and I knew that my conduct was wrong.” Spokesmen for Edens and the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment.
Edens is known for unconventional investments, including purchases of subprime loans in the aftermath of the 2008-09 financial crisis and a private passenger railway in Florida. In 2018, he bought a controlling stake in the then-struggling English soccer club Aston Villa. He had divorced his longtime wife before meeting Luo.