Wanying Zhang remains in federal custody after a judge on Oct 7 ruled she was a flight risk, rejecting her offer of $1.2M in property for bond. Arrested at LAX on Oct 4 as she attempted to fly to Shanghai, Zhang is charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the People's Republic of China. Prosecutors allege she transmitted photos and license plate information to Beijing handlers and received $190,000 from an unregistered cryptocurrency exchange in a Chinese bank account.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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FBI Identifies Fatai Miao as Spy Accomplice After One Way Flight to China
Geopolitics12 days ago
A construction entrepreneur based in California is believed by the FBI to have helped an alleged agent of China surveil the son of Taiwan's president in September 2025. Fatai Miao, identified in a federal criminal complaint as "Individual 1," allegedly accompanied Wanying Zhang to Seattle and rented an SUV to facilitate the monitoring of Lai Ting-yu and his family. While the Justice Department has not charged Miao with a crime, he is a person of interest who took a one-way flight to China shortly before the FBI raided his Irvine home on Oct 4 using a battering ram.
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