On Saturday, a Chinese national was arrested by the Secret Service at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida, while the president was there. Prosecutors say she was allegedly carrying four cellphones and computer equipment including a flash drive containing malware, and briefly gained admission by lying to federal agents about being on the membership list.
But the story gets even stranger from there. According to the Miami Herald, although the woman, Yujing Zhang, told officials she was there for a "United Nations Friendship Event," her actual purpose there was likely to attend an event associated with a familiar, controversial figure in the president's orbit: massage parlor owner Li "Cindy" Yang.
One event, a "Safari Night" held to benefit a local youth charity, was canceled after the Miami Herald revealed that Yang — a former owner of the massage parlor where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution — had taken photographs with Trump and other Republican leaders and used them to advertise her ability to get Chinese clients into events with the president.On the website for her consulting business, Yang also advertised a March 30 "International Leaders Elite Forum," calling it a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and the first event at Mar-a-Lago with "the Chinese as the protagonist." That event also did not take place.
In addition to the allegations of making a business out of selling access to the president, Yang owned a Florida spa that has been accused of selling sex to clients as part of a multi-agency human trafficking investigation.
