Dana White is the latest, but certainly not the first, celebrity to be allegedly extorted over a sex tape. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Saturday that the UFC President had been named in a lawsuit by Ernesto Joshua Ramos, 42. Ramos is suing White over non-payment of $450,000, which was due in exchange for not disclosing White’s name in connection with a criminal case for extortion involving the tape. Also naming the UFC in the lawsuit, Ramos is looking a cool $10 million.
In short, White was the victim of a $200,000 extortion case in 2015, which landed Ramos a 366-day prison sentence for a felony count of “use of a facility of interstate communication to promote extortion.” Although the case made the rounds in the media at the time, the victim’s name was never made public thanks to a publication ban imposed by the courts. Instead, he was referred to as “part-owner of a well-known business.”
What’s not in dispute is that Ramos attempted to extort White over the existence of a sex tape involving the UFC exec and Ramos’ stripper-girlfriend. She apparently taped an encounter in Brazil with White without his knowledge or consent, leading Ramos to try to cash in. White and the woman had been seeing each other for some time.
The play by Ramos to profit didn’t work. Instead, he was nabbed by the FBI and did hard time — but incredibly now wants to sue White. Ramos alleges that he attempted to withdraw his guilty plea in the original case due to White’s non-payment of the $450,000. The money was to keep Ramos quiet and encourage him to plead guilty, he claims.
The woman in question was never named or charged.
Wild. White released a statement in response to the lawsuit Saturday.
“I just found out that a bullsh*t lawsuit was filed against me yesterday. This guy went to federal prison for trying to extort me over five years ago. Now he’s hired a lawyer who is also a convicted felon, and he’s trying to extort me again for $10 million,” said White. “He got no money from me last time and he won’t be getting any money from me this time. I look forward to the court dismissing this quickly so I can get rid of these scumbags forever.”
