The life of an American female broker accused of spying for China

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents on October 4 arrested Wanying Zhang at Los Angeles International Airport, California, right before the 34-year-old woman boarded a plane to Shanghai, China.

“We arrested the Chinese agent when he tried to fly back to the country,” said federal prosecutor in California Bill Essayli. According to the FBI, Zhang was indicted on charges of being an “unregistered foreign agent”, identifying Zhang’s target in the US as Lai Dinh Du, son of Taiwanese leader Lai Thanh Duc.

Before becoming a suspect in a case related to intelligence activities, Zhang appeared on social networks with a dynamic image, regularly sharing photos of his travels around the world and dining at high-end restaurants. AP describe.

Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, is said to be from Trường Sa city, Hunan province. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of International Relations in Beijing in 2014, then received a master’s degree in public management from the University of Southern California (USC) in 2016.

Zhang has had a real estate broker license in California since 2016 and lives in the city of Irvine. She works for JC Pacific Capital company. Records on real estate trading platform Zillow show that Zhang brokered 126 transactions, with an average value of $3 million, in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.

Zhang married Edric Ding, a colleague at the company. The two are said to have a young child.

On social networks, Zhang stands out as a female broker with an active life. She has been to Paris, France many times and met friends at vacation locations on the West Coast of the US.

She also regularly posts photos of shopping, eating, and enjoying time with her family. Some photos show Zhang posing outside stores with shopping bags, standing at snowy mountain resorts or dining at restaurants.

On Chinese social networks XiaohongshuZhang also posted about a trip to Seattle, Washington state on September 2, 2025. In the article, she complained about the wait time for security checks at the city’s airport.

However, US officials’ investigation records show that this trip was not just tourism. Zhang and a man known as “Individual 1” had traveled from Las Vegas to Seattle the day before, rented a car and drove near Lai Dinh Du’s home. A neighbor’s security camera captured images of the car parked in the area.

When Lai and his wife and children returned home in the evening, Zhang and his companion sat up straight and pointed their phones at the Taiwanese leader’s son’s family. Zhang then informed the Chinese contact via WeChat that he had seen “that young person”, said he was filming a video and sent the license plate information.

The FBI obtained Zhang’s WeChat messages through a search warrant on his iCloud account. The records also show she was in contact with at least two people who investigators believe have ties to the Chinese government.

Ding told CBS News After his wife was arrested, he said he “didn’t know anything” about the incident and refused to comment further. It is unclear whether Zhang is represented by a lawyer or not. JC Pacific Capital has removed information about Zhang from the company’s website.

Mr. Essayli said Zhang will appear in federal court in Los Angeles on October 12. Zhang could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “did not clearly grasp” information about this case, and opposed exaggerating accusations of “Chinese espionage” to smear Beijing.

Zhang’s arrest took place in the context of California having recorded a number of other notable cases related to accusations of “working for the Chinese government”. In March, Elieen Wang, mayor of Arcadia City, admitted that she and her ex-fiancé Yaoning “Mike” Sun spread content favorable to China through the US News Center website from 2020 to 2022. According to the FBI, this content included pre-prepared articles and sent them to Wang and Sun in a WeChat group.

Prosecutor Essayli said the US will handle secret activities of foreign governments on its territory.

“You cannot conduct intelligence activities for foreign countries right on US soil and then just get on a plane to return home,” the FBI posted a warning message on social network X.