The Chinese language-born divorcée who’s charged with blackmailing Wall Avenue billionaire and Milwaukee Bucks proprietor Wesley Edens was bailed out of jail by a Chinese language overseas agent — and has intensive ties to the nation, bombshell courtroom paperwork reveal.
Changli “Sophia” Luo, 46, who faces 4 counts over the alleged extortion scheme after she had intercourse with the 64-year-old Edens, was launched on $500,000 bond, which was posted by Robin Mui — the CEO of a pro-Chinese language Communist Social gathering newspaper that operates within the US.
Paperwork present Mui stumped up $100,000 in money to safe her launch on home arrest.
Mui is a registered overseas agent who runs Sing Tao US, the New York Metropolis-based arm of a Chinese language-owned media group.
Marketing campaign information present he additionally donated to the marketing campaign of the disgraced Southern California Mayor Eileen Wang, who has admitted in courtroom to being a Chinese language asset.
Luo, who runs New York-based nonprofit One World Initiative Advocacy, is accused of sliding into Edens’ LinkedIn DMs, hooking up with him — after which threatening to share compromising movies and photos of the financier, in accordance with federal docs.
She has pleaded not responsible.
Reached on the lux Park Avenue pad the place she’s below home arrest, Luo refused to speak, telling The Publish, “No, get away.”
At one level, she demanded a $1.2 billion payout, half of his $2.5 billion fortune, prosecutors stated.
Throughout a Dec. 3 courtroom listening to following her arrest, the federal government argued that she was a flight danger on account of her vital ties to China.
She had not too long ago transferred a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} to accounts in China — together with a big portion of the $1 million Edens gave her as a part of a payoff settlement, which she allegedly later reneged on, the feds stated.
Data present that she had extra property within the communist nation than she had within the US, and her father and different relations stay there, prosecutors argued.
She was arrested after reserving a flight from JFK Worldwide Airport to Hong Kong.
Her lawyer argued that she wasn’t a flight danger and famous that she will not be a Chinese language citizen and had surrendered her US passport.
He claimed that she was solely attempting to fly to Hong Kong to go to her sick father.
The federal government requested house detention with GPS monitoring and a big bond.
Mui is a well known pro-Chinese language authorities energy participant. He registered Sing Tao Information as a overseas agent of Hong Kong in 2021 after a requirement by the US Justice Division.
The US arm of the corporate obtained thousands and thousands from its guardian group in Hong Kong, a former British colony that’s now completely managed by the CCP in Beijing.
The corporate denied it was appearing as a overseas agent — claiming that it’s a authentic information outlet offering data to the Chinese language expat group.
His firm additionally donated to the marketing campaign of a California mayor who has since admitted to being a Chinese language agent, in accordance with marketing campaign finance information.
Eileen Wang, 58, resigned as mayor of Arcadia on Monday after pleading responsible to appearing as an agent for the Chinese language authorities.
The Chinese language-born politician obtained a $3,300 donation from the Los Angeles-based arm of Sing Tao, Mui’s firm, on Aug. 9, 2022, in accordance with the marketing campaign’s monetary information.
Nevertheless, Mui insisted that Wang’s marketing campaign had made an error on its marketing campaign finance types and stated he had by no means contributed to Wang’s marketing campaign.
“[The] LA department by no means made any political contribution — until you show to me in any other case,” Mui informed the LA Occasions in Could 2025 when information of the alleged donation got here to mild.
Wang now faces as much as 10 years in jail for one rely of appearing within the US as an unlawful agent, in accordance with a federal plea settlement unsealed Monday.
Mui beforehand made headlines in 2024 when it was revealed that two of former New York Mayor Eric Adams’ prime advisers had met with him.
That assembly, in spring 2022, got here simply months after Mui had registered as an agent for the Chinese language authorities.
Mui didn’t disclose his assembly with Adams officers, elevating potential authorized considerations. Mui claimed it was his job to speak to
Mui’s involvement within the case raises questions on whether or not Luo could possibly be concerned in China’s try to run affect operations within the US, in accordance with an professional from the revered conservative suppose tank, the Basis for Protection of Democracies (FDD).
“You have this ecosystem of Chinese language language information retailers in the US, a lot of them get funding from Chinese language sources, take part in Chinese language authorities dialogues, and clearly have editorial agendas assigned by the Chinese language authorities,” FDD Senior Fellow Emily de La Bruyere informed The Publish.
“Then you may have non-profits which have as their mission one thing alongside the strains of ‘fostering Chinese language-US cooperation’ or ‘globalization,’ and most of them don’t disclose their funding, however in some circumstances, you’ll be able to see they’re funded by Chinese language entities,” she added.
“It wouldn’t in any respect be loopy to think about a state of affairs through which you may have a China-tied Chinese language language information outlet advancing Chinese language affect efforts within the US, a China-tied non-profit advancing Chinese language curiosity within the US, and a Chinese language agent in political workplace, and all of those three work together, and their funding is commingled or coming from related sources,” she stated.
Mui didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark Tuesday.
Makes an attempt by The Publish to talk with him at Sing Tao’s workplaces on Lafayette Avenue in Manhattan have been additionally unsuccessful.
