At least two dozen web domains using Trump's name and properties have been registered in Asia, according to Buzzfeed. The domains were registered by the American Association of Hospitality Sciences, whose chairman coincidentally has ties to both the mob and President-Elect Donald Trump. Joseph "Joey No Sock" Cinque runs the hospitality firm, which is known for presenting restaurants, clubs, golf courses, and more with the "Star Diamond" award. The award represents true excellence in hospitality, and has been awarded to Trump in the past.
While Cinque is known for his work with the American Association of Hospitality Sciences, he is also known for his ties to the famous Gotti crime family. He has previously spoken about these ties himself in a New York Magazine profile, as well as being convicted of possessing stolen property in 1989.
Trump has played down his relationship with Cinque in the past, telling the Associated Press in May that he was unaware of Cinque's criminal history, saying "if a guy's going to give you an award, you take it. You don't tend to look up his whole life story." The AP reported, though, that about half of the American Association of Hospitality Sciences' thirty trustees are either friends or business associates of Trump. The connections don't stop there, either. Cinque himself was at Trump's pay-for-access New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-lago estate in Florida. He was seen standing at the president-elect's side, as well, while he gave a speech during the event.
Now it has been discovered that Cinque's business has been registering domain names with Trump's name, his children's names, and the names of his many properties in Asia. As Buzzfeed reported, the information for these sites clearly states that they were registered by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. While some of the domain purchases are quite recent, others date back as early as 2008.
Buzzfeed reached out to a lawyer for the AAHS, as well as the Trump Organization and the transition team for comment on the registered domain names. None of the parties have commented on the matter, though, and no sites have yet to be built with these URLs.