California Woman Arrested On Federal Complaint Alleging She Acted As An Agent Of China And Spied On U.S.-Based Relatives Of High-Ranking Taiwanese Government Official

The U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District of California announced that an Orange County woman has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging her with acting in the United States as an unregistered agent of the government of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), including by conducting surveillance of family members of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, the Justice Department announced today.

Wanying Zhang, 34, a.k.a. “Heather Zhang,” of Irvine, was arrested on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport, where she planned to board a flight to China. She is expected to make her initial appearance and be arraigned this afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

“Protecting our national security means confronting foreign governments that engage in covert operations in our nation,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Ms. Zhang acted at the direction of Chinese government officials to spy on the family of a senior Taiwanese official here in the United States. She violated our laws and will be held accountable in our courts. We will aggressively investigate and prosecute illegal foreign operations on American soil.”

“The central allegation here — that Zhang, at the behest of the People’s Republic of China, covertly surveilled relatives of a high-ranking foreign government official in the United States — is deeply troubling,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.  “The National Security Division and U.S. Attorney’s Offices, along with the FBI and other law enforcement partners, will remain vigilant against threats like this on our soil.”

“The complaint in this case lays bare a brazen plot directed by the Chinese government to conduct a covert surveillance mission on U.S. soil targeting close relatives of a Taiwanese government official,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Wanying Zhang’s arrest for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government makes clear how far China’s authoritarian regime will go to advance its goals. However, this case also demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to defending the sovereignty of our democratic allies and combating all attempts by the Chinese government — and any foreign adversary — to conduct transnational repression within our borders.”          

According to the complaint, from June 2025 to September 2025, Zhang acted as an agent of the Chinese government without prior notification to the Attorney General of the United States, as required by federal law. 

At the direction and control of Chinese government officials, Zhang coordinated with other individuals to promote the interests of China by, among other things, conducting surveillance on family members of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official at their residence in the United States.

In June 2025, Zhang traveled from Southern California to China, where she met with Chinese government officials and was tasked with conducting the surveillance in the United States.

On August 29, 2025, Zhang and another individual flew from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to Las Vegas. On September 1, 2025, they flew from Las Vegas to the state where the victim resides. On that date, she messaged a PRC government official that she was “Boarding now” and sent the PRC official a photograph of her boarding pass.

Upon their arrival, Zhang and the other individual rented a car and drove to the victim’s residence, where they conducted surveillance. Zhang sent the same PRC official the following message: “Saw him, young male, it’s the young one.” When this official asked her to join an audio call, she replied, “I am videorecording.” 

Zhang also sent the same official the license plate numbers for the two vehicles parked in front of the victim’s home.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Zhang would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda B. Elbogen and Colin S. Scott of the National Security Division and Justice Department Senior Counsel Scott M. Lara of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this case.