Glamorous jet-set life of USC-educated Chinese spy suspect snared at LAX as her husband left stunned by arrest

A California realtor arrested for allegedly spying for the Chinese government appeared to have lived a jet-setting lifestyle before federal authorities detained her.Wanying Zhang, 34, also known as “Heather,” documented trips to Paris and outings with friends across the West Coast on her social media pages.Zhang also appears to have graduated from USC, where the total cost of attendance can run more than $75,000 per year.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story Her husband Edric Ding is also a realtor at the same Orange County firm as Zhang.His social media shows outings to Korean barbecue restaurants, as well as anime and sword-art expos.

The couple also appears to have a young child.Ding told CBS News when reached by phone Sunday, “I don’t know anything yet,” and declined to comment further.But Zhang’s travels allegedly went far beyond vacations.Federal authorities say she made multiple trips to China and traveled to Seattle, where she allegedly surveilled Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, according to a federal complaint.Zhang was arrested at LAX on Sunday as she tried to board a flight to Shanghai.The 34-year-old Irvine resident is accused of working with handlers from the People’s Republic of China to surveil Lai, an engineer in his 30s who is based in the US.Federal authorities allege Zhang traveled to Seattle in September 2025 to spy on Lai, with text exchanges detailed in the federal complaint forming a key part of the government’s case against her.According to an FBI affidavit, investigators obtained WeChat communications from Zhang’s iCloud account that they say show her communicating with two people believed to be Chinese government officials and discussing assignments that eventually led to the surveillance operati...