Realtor Charged With Spying After Treating Taiwan President’s Family Like a Hot Listing

Los Angeles, CA — California realtor Wanying “Heather” Zhang has been charged with acting as an unregistered Chinese agent after FBI agents say she treated the family of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te like a listing that needed thorough comparable market research.

Prosecutors say Zhang, 34, took photos and videos of the president’s relatives in Seattle, logged license plates, and forwarded the package to Chinese officials, complete with what one investigator described as “aggressive follow-up.”

“She noted curb appeal, school districts, sight lines from the driveway, and whether the garage door stayed open long enough for a soft close,” said FBI Special Agent Ned Openhouse. “In the industry we call that due diligence. In this case we call it a felony.”

Zhang was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport while boarding a flight to Shanghai, which colleagues said was “a little farther than her usual open-house circuit.” A former co-worker, who asked to be identified only as “someone who still has to sell condos in Glendale,” recalled Zhang’s listing notes as unusually thorough.

“She once described a duplex as ‘motivated sellers, south-facing windows, and excellent for photographing a foreign dignitary’s son,’” the co-worker said. “At the time we thought she was just really into natural light.”

Taiwan’s Presidential Office called the case “a classic example of transnational repression.” China did not immediately comment, which local brokers said was standard when a deal falls through.

At publishing time, Zhang’s brokerage had already reassigned her listings, and one rival agent had quietly added “discreet international clientele” to his bio.