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A California woman who prosecutors say spied on a son of Taiwan’s president was indicted this month on charges of conspiracy and being an unregistered foreign agent for China.
The indictment was filed Oct. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and the allegations it makes mirror an earlier criminal complaint against the woman, Wanying Zhang, 34, of Irvine.
Prosecutors say Zhang, who also goes by Heather, spied on a son of Taiwan’s president outside his Seattle-area home at the behest of Chinese officials. The espionage is said to have taken place between about June and September 2025, prosecutors claim.
Taiwan is a self-governing democracy that is the source of 90% of the world’s “advanced chip manufacturing,” according to the US International Trade Administration. China claims Taiwan, which the United States has recognized for nearly half a century, although it is required by law to ensure that Taiwan defends itself.
Prosecutors allege Zhang was under the guidance of an unnamed Chinese government official and former classmate at her alma mater, China’s University of International Relations, who is “closely connected to China’s intelligence apparatus,” an FBI investigator said in earlier court documents.
One example of the alleged activity was a request from the former classmate to send him pictures “of the house” where the boy lives, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that Zhang flew from California to Las Vegas and then to the Seattle area to conduct outside surveillance of the unidentified boy in his home.
The indictment alleges that she captured photos, videos and license plate information and sent them to the person who was her Chinese handler. An unidentified person who fled to China in September was with her, prosecutors said.
Zhang also traveled to China in August 2025 to meet with a Chinese government official, returned days later and told the official she would most likely go to the victim’s location the following week, according to the indictment.
Her attorney, Craig Harbaugh, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Earlier, Harbaugh, a veteran criminal defense attorney, described Zhang as an upstanding resident of Irvine, about 42 miles southeast of Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters.
“The government’s theory – she has been a sleeper agent for the last 10 years, works as a real estate agency, raises her family and will choose to go to China and give up her job, her family and her home – it is not supported,” Harbaugh said in court on October 7.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve Kim ordered Zhang into custody after prosecutors argued she posed a flight risk. The US Bureau of Prisons website shows she remains in prison.
Zhang is scheduled to appear in federal district court Friday for a arraignment following the indictment. She could face up to 15 years in prison.
