Mallory Edens, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks billionaire co-owner Wes Edens, was all smiles as she represented the team at the 2026 NBA draft lottery in Chicago on Sunday.
The model, who wore a bright yellow ensemble, is no stranger to the spotlight after she became an internet sensation when she represented the Bucks at the 2014 NBA draft lottery in New York.
Wes, 64, also attended the lottery after the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing federal prosecutors, that he is the target of an alleged $1 billion extortion plot by China-born entrepreneur Changli “Sophia” Luo, with whom he had a brief sexual relationship.
Luo, 46, is described in the report as a divorcée living in New York City, who had founded One World Initiative Advocacy, a Manhattan-based nonprofit producing video interviews with economists and environmentalists.
She was indicted in 2025 for allegedly threatening to publicize videos and photos of their sexual encounter if Wes didn’t apologize and take “responsibility” for having sex with her while she was mentally incapacitated.
Luo contacted members of Wes’ family, including his ex-wife, Lynn, whom he divorced in June 2021, and threatened to approach investors and destroy him, prosecutors said.
In November 2023, prosecutors said Luo used a fake name to gain access to the doctor’s office where Wes’ then-girlfriend and current wife worked — and told his wife that she had sex with Wes, whom she described as a terrible person.
During a Zoom mediation, Luo’s lawyers said in a court filing that 64-year-old Wes agreed to settle the matter for $6.5 million, with $1 million upfront.
Luo allegedly asked for as much as $1.215 billion after her lawyers said she found out she had HPV-16, a sexually transmitted infection that can lead to cancer.
Wes, who denied Luo’s allegations, said he participated in the scheme believing it would prevent harassment of his family and potential public embarrassment, according to prosecutors.
The pair reportedly met when Wes answered a LinkedIn message from Luo in 2022.
A spokesperson for Wes — who is also the co-founder of Wall Street investment firm Fortress Investment Group and owner of the Aston Villa soccer team — said he had approached law enforcement out of concern for the safety of himself and his family.
“Mr. Edens will be making no comment on the case as the indictment speaks for itself with respect to the charges against the defendant,” the spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal.
“Mr. Edens expects to testify under oath at the upcoming trial” later this year.
Luo pleaded not guilty to charges of four counts, including blackmail and destruction of records.
She was released on a $500,000 bond and placed under home detention.
Federal agents arrested Luo at New York’s JFK airport as she was attempting to board a flight to China last June, according to prosecutors.
They said FBI agents searched Luo’s Manhattan apartment in May and found a phone inside a box of sanitary pads that had several pornographic videos and images with Edens’s face on another man’s body.