A California real estate agent accused of spying on the family of Taiwan’s president was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport, federal authorities said.
Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, of Irvine, was detained by federal agents as she prepared to board a flight to Shanghai. Prosecutors have charged her with allegedly operating in the United States as an unregistered agent for a foreign government.
Investigators allege Zhang and an unnamed associate traveled to Seattle in September 2025 and photographed the suburban residence of relatives connected to a senior Taiwanese official.
In an October 3 criminal complaint, Special Agent Kevin Holt wrote that photographs of the family’s home, vehicles and whereabouts could potentially give the People’s Republic of China leverage over Taiwan’s president during a future confrontation.
Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan, while Taiwan maintains its own democratic government and rejects China’s territorial claim.
People familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the alleged surveillance target was Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Ching-Te Lai.
Ting-Yu Lai, an engineer in his 30s, studied at a U.S. university and lives with his wife, Hisao Chen, and their American-born son. He is employed by Philips, the multinational electronics company.
Federal authorities arrested Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, on allegations that she acted as an unregistered foreign agent
Agents detained Zhang at Los Angeles International Airport as she prepared to fly to Shanghai
The complaint, obtained by CBS News, alleges that Zhang and a man referred to in court filings only as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025. They reportedly rented a black Nissan Rogue and drove to the residence associated with Lai.
Security footage from a nearby home, cited in the complaint, allegedly captured the pair appearing to record Lai, his wife and their child as they returned home that night.
According to investigators, Zhang later sent messages to a suspected Chinese government contact saying, “Saw him. Young male. It’s the young one,” and, “I am video recording.” She also allegedly provided two vehicle license plate numbers.
The complaint says those messages were recovered through a search warrant targeting Zhang’s iCloud account.
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Investigators further allege that Zhang communicated with at least two individuals she appeared to recognize as representatives of the Chinese government.
Holt said Zhang was introduced to one of those officials in June 2025 by a former classmate from Beijing’s University of International Relations, an institution he described as having close connections to China’s Ministry of State Security.
During a June 2025 visit to China, Zhang allegedly reserved a private room in Changsha, where she met the official and was given instructions for the surveillance assignment.
She later allegedly assured the official by text: “I can take care of this thing.”
The criminal complaint includes an image of Zhang with a man investigators identify as an alleged accomplice
On August 25, 2025, Zhang reportedly messaged the Chinese official to say she would be occupied with work in Los Angeles but expected to travel to Seattle the following week.
The official responded, “OK. Thank you for your hard work,” according to the criminal complaint.
Zhang is a licensed California real estate agent with JC Pacific Capital Inc.
Her Zillow profile shows she has 130 sales and listings around LA and neighboring counties.
Zhang is a licensed California real estate agent with JC Pacific Capital Inc
Bill Essayli, first US Attorney for the Central District of California, said she has since ‘used tradecraft’ to avoid detection from American authorities and never notified the Attorney General she was acting as an agent for a foreign government.
Zhang is now expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday for an initial appearance.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
