FBI Arrests California Woman Accused Of Spying For China

FBI agents arrested a California woman on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport before she could board a flight to Shanghai, charging her with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China.

Federal prosecutors said Wanying Zhang, a 34-year-old real estate agent from Irvine, California, conducted surveillance on behalf of Chinese officials against a son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.

Zhang, who is also known as Heather, traveled to the Seattle area in September 2025 under instructions from Chinese officials, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI counterintelligence squad in Los Angeles.

While in Washington state, Zhang and an accomplice took photographs and recorded videos of a residence belonging to Lai Ting-yu, the president's son. They gathered vehicle license plate numbers and documented family members arriving at the property, investigators said.

Zhang then sent the images, recordings and vehicle information to Chinese officials through the WeChat messaging application, according to federal court records.

In the complaint, FBI Special Agent Kevin Holt stated that Chinese authorities could use records, locations and photographs of close relatives to obtain leverage over Taiwan's president during a potential conflict.

First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said Zhang used operational tradecraft to conceal her actions. He added that she never notified the United States government that she was operating as an agent of a foreign power.

The target of the surveillance, Lai Ting-yu, works as an engineer in the United States and has not participated in Taiwanese politics, according to media reports.

The Chinese embassy in Washington and Taiwan's representative office in the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zhang was scheduled to make her initial appearance in a Los Angeles federal court on Monday, according to the United States Attorney's Office.