Trump’s links to Florida day spa prostitution case
Cindy (Li) Yang, a Florida entrepreneur who founded a chain of spas and massages parlors that included the one where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was arrested recently for allegedly soliciting prostitution, also runs a consulting business that has offered to sell Chinese clients access to President Donald Trump and his family at Mara-Lago, according to the company’s website.
Mother Jones, which broke the story on Saturday, says Yang could not be reached for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yang, a donor to the Republican Party and Trump campaign, popped up this week in photos showing her at a Super Bowl viewing party at the Trumpowned Mar-a-Lago that included a selfie with the president, the Miami Herald reported.
According to Mother Jones, Yang’s company – GY US Investments LLC –- has a website, mostly in Chinese, that shows her and purported clients hobnobbing at the presidential retreat.
While Mother Jones’ examination on the website includes critical detail about a New Year’s Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago, a cached version of the website from August 2018, examined by USA TODAY, also confirms the key points of the magazine’s story.
It details Yang’s vast network within the Trump administration and Republican Party – including photos with the president, his family, members of Congress and key White House aides – and offers businesses and individuals a window into that network.
The company, founded in 2017 by Yang and her husband, Zubin Gong, describes itself as a consulting firm that helps businesses in America ‘‘expand their brand image in the modern Chinese marketplace.’’ Mother Jones says the website stopped functioning the same day the Herald story was published about Yang and her connection to the spas.
The website, mostly in Chinese, lists events where Yang and others at the company mingled with the president and members of his cabinet, such as Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
It also lists photos with the president’s family, including sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, top White House aide Kellyanne Conway, former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka.
It boasts about opportunities for businesses and individuals where they can ‘‘have the opportunity to interact with the president’’ and other ‘‘political figures.’’
It lists various dinners and charity events and a fluid calendar of events, most including Trump, Gorka and Fox News host Jesse Watters. – USA Today