FBI arrests Irvine real‑estate agent at LAX on alleged China spying charges

Federal agents detained 34‑year‑old naturalized U.S. citizen Wanying Zhang at Los Angeles International Airport before she boarded a flight to China, and she is scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors allege Zhang acted as an unregistered foreign agent for China, surveilling the home of Ting‑Yu Lai, the son of Taiwan President Lai Ching‑te, and transmitting photos, video and license‑plate data to a Chinese government official via WeChat; the complaint says she and an accomplice traveled to Seattle on September 1, 2025, to take the images before reporting back to handlers in China.