JUNE 28--Former NBA star--and current Golden State Warriors head coach--Mark Jackson was the target of a recent extortion plot allegedly hatched by an ex-stripper with whom he carried on an extramarital affair and shared photos of his genitalia, The Smoking Gun has learned.
The shakedown scheme, which was foiled by the FBI with Jackson’s cooperation, resulted this week in the arrest of Alexis Adams, the former dancer, and her alleged coconspirator, ex-convict Marcus Shaw.
Adams, 28, and Shaw, 40, have been named in felony criminal complaints filed under seal in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California. The duo, whose relationship is unclear, is accused of trying to extort a six-figure payment from Jackson in return for them not disseminating/selling the explicit photos to the “vultures of the media.”
While the complaints refer only to the extortion victim as “V1”--a man the FBI describes as a “prominent member of the public who now works in Oakland, California”--a TSG source familiar with the federal investigation identified the 47-year-old Jackson as the shakedown subject.
A business associate of Jackson told TSG that he spoke this morning with the coach, who confirmed his involvement in the FBI investigation, and that his family and Warriors brass were aware of the federal probe.
The compromising photos were sent by Jackson to Adams about six years ago during the course of an affair that lasted less than a year, according to affidavit sworn by FBI Agent Beth Alvarez. Some of the images showed Jackson “without any clothing and of V1’s genitalia.”
At the time of the affair, Adams “worked as a dancer in gentlemen’s club in New York,” reported Alvarez. Records show that Adams (pictured above) is now a licensed esthetician and recently opened a day spa. When he met Adams, Jackson was working as an announcer with the New Jersey Nets, having retired several years earlier after a 17-season NBA career. He was hired last June as head coach of the Oakland-based Warriors.