California realtor accused of Chinese espionage linked to forced-labor scam network
A California realtor charged as an unregistered Chinese agent is connected to a Cambodian criminal group accused of forced-labor scams and money-laundering for the Prince Group and the Sinaloa Cartel.
Wanying "Heather" Zhang, a 34-year-old Irvine realtor, was charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China after allegedly surveilling the Taiwanese president's son in Seattle in 2025. Court documents reveal her association with Fatai Miao, the registered agent of Yuanjin Development & Construction LLC, whose Irvine residence was described as a "stash house" for a Chinese money-laundering operation that collaborated with the Sinaloa Cartel.
Both individuals are linked to the Prince Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate accused by the Justice Department of operating forced-labor scam compounds that defrauded Americans through cryptocurrency schemes and laundered the proceeds. The group’s "enforcer," Chen Sokly, is connected to a Bugatti featured in Zhang's Xiaohongshu post and to a $3 million yacht allegedly used as a bribe. Federal prosecutors have seized $15 billion in bitcoin and indicted 24 members, but Zhang and Miao have only been charged with foreign-agent activity and have not been tied to the drug-money laundering allegations. The case highlights a complex web of alleged espionage, organized crime, and transnational fraud.
Why it matters
It shows potential ties between foreign espionage and global fraud networks exploiting forced labor and laundering drug money.
In this story
