China-born Cindy Li Yang, founder of Florida spa linked to sex trafficking and Robert Kraft prostitution case, attended Donald Trump’s Super Bowl party
- Cindy Li Yang, a big donor to Donald Trump, is seen in a selfie posing with the US president
- Yang founded a chain of massage parlours that included the Orchids of Asia spa where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly received sex services
The founder of a Florida day spa where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was arrested for allegedly soliciting prostitution watched this year’s Super Bowl at a party hosted by US President Donald Trump and has also visited Trump’s White House.
Cindy Li Yang, 45, snapped a selfie photo with Trump from the Super Bowl watch party, held at the president’s West Palm Beach country club on February 3, The Miami Herald reported on Friday.
Trump, a long-time friend of Kraft and Patriots admirer, is seen leaning back in his chair and smiling with Yang and another woman who are seated at a table behind the president in the blurry photo.
Yang, an entrepreneur who reportedly arrived in the US from China two decades ago, opened a chain of South Florida day spas in 2007 that included Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, which is now connected to a sex trafficking ring tied to Kraft’s case.
Yang told The Miami Herald that she long ago sold Orchids of Asia Day Spa. But her family still owns several spas in Florida, including some with the name Tokyo Day Spas – which the publication said has a reputation for offering sexual services.
Yang was not charged in the four-county, seven-month sex trafficking investigation that targeted 10 spas in Florida and arrested some 300 alleged johns, including Kraft.
She sold the Jupiter spa to Hua Zhang around 2013. Zhang was charged with racketeering and running a house of prostitution and has pleaded not guilty.
The White House, the Trump campaign and the Trump Organisation have not responded to requests for comment, the report said.
Yang, a newcomer to Republican politics, and her close relatives have contributed more than US$42,000 to Trump Victory, a political action committee, and more than US$16,000 to the president’s campaign committee since 2017, according to The Miami Herald.
According to her Facebook page, the report said, Yang was invited to the White House for an Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative event in February 2018.
She attended the White House’s celebration of the Lunar New Year at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Yang has attended other GOP and Trump-affiliated fundraisers, balls and events as well, including at Trump’s “Winter White House” Mar-a-Lago.
There, she was photographed with Trump’s son Eric for the group Turning Points USA, a conservative college organisation. The report said she’s also met Donald Trump Jnr.
Kraft, 77, faces a pair of misdemeanour charges for allegedly paying women for sexual acts at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter twice during the NFL playoffs, including the morning the Patriots won the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The allegations against Kraft have put sex trafficking back in the national spotlight.
Jupiter police said the acts were captured on video surveillance. Kraft, who has pleaded not guilty in both cases and asked for a non-jury trial, has said through a spokesman that he did not engage in any illegal activity.
Yang told The Herald in a phone interview that she and her family haven’t broken the law. She said she is out of the business, would soon be relocating to Washington, and didn’t want any negative media attention.
The newspaper reported that Yang had not voted in 10 years before 2016 but she has become a fixture at Republican political events on the East Coast.
Her Facebook page contains photos of her with Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jnr, Florida Governor Rick DeSantis, Senator Rick Scott, Sarah Palin and other Republican operators she met at charity events and fundraisers.
Around three years ago, Yang announced she was pursuing a “new life” in a series of Facebook posts. This included an investment consulting business, a travel agency and a charity.
Yang told The Herald she doesn’t know the president personally.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
