Source: Fortune
Summary
A woman pleaded guilty to fraud in a scheme to extort over $1.2 billion from three victims, including Fortress Investment Group co-founder Wes Edens, according to court documents and reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. Prosecutors allege that Changli “Sophia” Luo used LinkedIn to connect with victims, engaged in a sexual encounter, and then sent threatening messages demanding money. She faced up to 20 years in prison and was arrested in June 2025. Luo’s lawyers had previously argued that her actions were part of settlement talks, but prosecutors maintained that the case should proceed.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story.
Luo used LinkedIn to find targets, then moved to threats and extortion.
She demanded $1.2 billion from one victim, claiming to have evidence.
She tried to hide evidence during an FBI raid, but was caught.
She allegedly used men to fund her lifestyle, with no legitimate income.
Author: Evan Null
From LinkedIn to a mediator
Luo cold-messaged Victim-1 on LinkedIn in November 2022 to discuss a business endeavor, according to court documents. After a handful of meetings, the two had a sexual encounter at her midtown Manhattan apartment in June 2023. 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.
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 “[e]verything [Victim-1] did was caught on camera.” The letters threatened to give said videos to “mass media” unless he apologized. 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 “several million dollars” and made an initial payment.
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 “government offices.” 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 “responsibility,” the message said, Luo was determined to “destroy” him. She had at least two videos and pictures of the encounter, it added, and would go to “criminal investigators,” his business partners and “the federal government.” Victim-1 did not pay.
“Later that same day, Luo’s attorney confirmed the accuracy of what Luo had instructed him to convey to Victim-1’s attorney,” court documents read. “Luo’s attorney also conveyed that Luo wanted Victim-1 to know that she wished to bring pain to Victim-1’s children. Victim-1 did not accede to Luo’s extortionate demands.” 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’s face grafted on, the complaint says. Forensic examination indicated she made the edits that day, prosecutors wrote.
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’s face grafted on, the complaint says. Forensic examination indicated she made the edits that day, prosecutors wrote.
Search and arrest
FBI 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. 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.
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’ presence. In February of this year, Luo’s 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 “a permanent injury.” Prosecutors replied that whether conduct was wrongful, and whether she had a legitimate claim, are questions for a jury.
Two other men
Some charges involve a “Victim-2” and “Victim-3,” and include device fraud and identity theft. Prosecutors allege Luo lured men into relationships “for the primary purpose of stealing their money and property.” 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.
Prosecutors say Luo cold-called Victim-3 claiming to be soliciting donations for her “supposed non-profit.” 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 “business opportunity,” and he refused too.
Prosecutors said in a filing that they would use notes from Luo’s electronic devices to show she intended to use men to fund her lifestyle. One 2023 entry assigned “bills and grocery money” to one man, they said, with other entries for “meals,” “rent,” “connections” and “building a house.” At least one 2023 entry mentions Victim-1 and Victim-2 together. Prosecutors wrote that Luo “does not appear to have had any legitimate income at that time” and that, in demanding more than $1 billion, she falsely claimed Victim-1 was her only sexual partner during a certain period.
