A lawsuit was filed accusing a woman of making a false sexual assault accusation against Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in an effort to extort $100 million from him.
According to documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the lawsuit was filed in Collin County, Texas, and details the alleged extortion attempt by Victoria Baileigh Shores and her lawyers, Bethel T. Zehaie and Yoel T. Zehaie.
The demand letter from Shores’ lawyers was sent Jan. 16.
‘Ms. Shores has had to live with this pain and trauma for 7 years. It affected her relationship with her fiancé and her everyday existence so much that she had to attend therapy and counseling and will require future therapy and counseling,’ the letter says. ‘She has suffered mental anguish that is unimaginable dealing with the trauma of being a sexual assault of victim. Despite the tragic events, she is willing to forego pursuing criminal charges, along with disclosing this information to the public, in exchange for compensating her for the mental anguish she has suffered. Ms. Shores’s damages are valued at the sum of $100,000,000.00. You have until February 16, 2024, to respond to this demand letter.’
Prescott filed the lawsuit under his legal name Rayne Dakota Prescott.
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‘Mr. Prescott – a new father to a baby girl – has great empathy for survivors of sexual assault. He fervently believes that all perpetrators of such crimes should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,’ Prescott’s lawyer Levi McCathern said in a statement. ‘To be clear, Mr. Prescott has never engaged in any nonconsensual, sexual conduct with anyone. Lies hurt. Especially, malicious lies. We will not allow the Defendant and her legal team to profit from this attempt to extort millions from Mr. Prescott.’
The statement also said that Prescott has reported the attempted extortion to the appropriate authorities and will continue to cooperate fully in their investigation.
According to the lawsuit, Prescott’s representative received correspondence from Shores and her lawyers Feb. 13 saying that Prescott sexually assaulted her and demanded the Pro Bowl quarterback pay $100 million in exchange for not going to the authorities and pressing charges.
Shores claims the assault happened around February 2, 2017, at the end of Prescott’s rookie season.
‘At the time of the alleged assault, Mr. Prescott was single, and in fact, the timeline of events and Defendant Shores’s actions in the seven years since the alleged assault are consistent with being involved with only consensual actions with Mr. Prescott,’ the lawsuit says.
Prescott, 30, who led the NFL in touchdown passes in 2023 and was second in the MVP voting, is a three-time Pro Bowl selection and is in the final season of a four-year, $160 million deal. He also won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2022.