Aston Villa and Bucks Co-Owner Wesley Edens Entangled in $1.2bn Extortion Scandal
Wesley Edens, billionaire co-owner of Premier League side Aston Villa and the Milwaukee Bucks, is accused of being the target of a $1.2bn sexual extortion plot following a brief affair. Prosecutors allege China-born Changli ‘Sophia’ Luo, 46, approached him via LinkedIn in 2022 and used a nonprofit as cover to build a relationship. By their third meeting in June 2023 at her New York apartment, the pair had been intimate. Court records say Luo then threatened to release photos and videos unless Edens paid over $1bn. She was arrested at JFK airport in June 2025 while trying to fly to China. Luo faces federal charges including blackmail, extortion and destruction of evidence. She has pleaded not guilty, remains on $500,000 bond and is under home detention. Federal agents reportedly recovered hidden phones containing manipulated images showing Edens’s face on others’ bodies. Edens, who divorced in 2021, co-founded Fortress Investment Group and co-owns Aston Villa through his V Sports company.
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