Judge keeps California woman accused of spying for China in custody

A federal judge ordered a California real estate agent held without bond Wednesday after prosecutors accused her of surveilling the son of Taiwan’s president for Chinese officials and argued that she could flee to China before trial.

Wanying Zhang, 34, of Irvine, was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport before boarding a flight to Shanghai. U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve Kim ruled that she would remain in custody after a hearing focused on her overseas ties, access to money and family life in Southern California.

A criminal complaint alleges that Zhang photographed and filmed Lai Ting-yu and his family near their home in the Seattle area last year, collected license plate information and sent material to an alleged Chinese handler. Prosecutors say she acted at the direction of Chinese officials without registering as a foreign agent. The complaint also describes an unidentified accomplice, whom prosecutors said left for China on a one-way ticket about two weeks before the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Elbogen called Zhang a “secret agent of a hostile foreign power” and said she had “hundreds of thousands of dollars” available in China. According to CBS News, Elbogen told the court that $190,000 had been deposited into Zhang’s Chinese bank account from an “unregistered cryptocurrency exchange” business. Elbogen also confirmed that investigators had not recovered Zhang’s Chinese passport during a search of her home, CBS reported.

Zhang’s lawyer, Craig Harbaugh, argued that she would not abandon her husband, two young daughters, home and career to flee. “The government’s theory — she’s been a sleeper agent for the last 10 years, working as a real estate agent, raising her family and will choose to go to China and abandon her work, her family and her home — it’s not supported,” he said.

Her family offered property and financial guarantees to secure her release. CBS News reported that Zhang offered more than $1.2 million in property for bond. NBC News described $700,000 in home equity and $120,000 in bonds offered by relatives and a family friend.

Prosecutors said Zhang disclosed only one property on forms listing her assets after her arrest, though her husband later said they owned two more. Harbaugh called the discrepancy a “misunderstanding.” Kim cited “inconsistencies” involving her properties and assets and “where the money is coming from.”

The complaint says Zhang studied at Beijing’s University of International Relations from 2010 to 2014. An FBI agent wrote that China’s Ministry of State Security recruits heavily from the university. Prosecutors also said Zhang’s parents and siblings live in China. Elbogen said Zhang had traveled to China 12 times since 2014 and made 29 international trips in total.

Harbaugh noted that the surveillance allegation dates to September 2025 and that, according to the complaint, Zhang’s last contact with her alleged Chinese government handlers was in October 2025. She is due back in court as early as Oct. 19 for a preliminary hearing unless prosecutors indict her first, NBC News reported.