Exclusive | SoCal businessman fled county after allegations he helped lover accused of being Chinese spy
A Southern California businessman targeted in a federal investigation of a real estate agent accused of spying for China has fled the country — as it was revealed that he’s the married alleged mole’s lover, according to sources familiar with the case.Fatai Miao, a Chinese-born California construction entrepreneur, is believed to have accompanied realtor Wanying Zhang to Seattle in September 2025, where she allegedly surveilled the Taiwanese president’s son, according to the sources.Miao took a “one-way” flight to China two weeks ago, prosecutors said in court on Wednesday, referring to him as “Individual 1.” His empty house in Irvine was searched by FBI agents on Sunday.Miao allegedly joined Zhang, who has children with her husband Edric Ding, when the 34-year-old accused spy visited Seattle to keep tabs on Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwan President Ching-te Lai.The younger Lai is an engineer in his 30s who is based in the US. Zhang, who worked for a real estate firm along with her husband, was arrested at LAX Sunday after being accused of spying for Beijing.
Zhang, also known as “Heather,” was busted as she tried to board a flight to Shanghai. Allegations surfaced that Zhang is “an unfit mother” at a hearing at a LA courthouse Wednesday, where prosecutors seeking her confinement said that her ties to “her family may not be as strong as they seem,” as Ding looked on.At the hearing, prosecutors accused Zhang of having access to $190,000 in a secret Chinese cryptocurrency account that she “was still receiving profits from.” They also pointed to Zhang’s brother having ties to the Chinese government.Prosecutors vehemently argued at the hearing that Zhang was a flight risk and pointed to a seized iCloud video that they said would show Zhang was “a danger to society.”“You should have produced this video and I could say she’s an unfit mother,” Judge Steve Kim said, as it was revealed that Zhang has “young children.”...