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After being busted earlier this month by the FBI for allegedly spying on China, California realtor Wanying Zhang and her real estate dealings are under intense scrutiny — raising questions about the source of her lavish lifestyle.
Following her arrest, the 34-year-old, who is accused of working with Chinese handlers to surveil the son of Taiwan’s president, “lied to pretrial services” about the number of properties and assets she owns, according to prosecutors.
Zhang, also known as Heather, had disclosed one property, but she and her husband appear to own seven homes worth an estimated $11 million, The Post has learned.
Her attorney, Craig Harbaugh, put this down to a “misunderstanding,” but Assistant US Attorney Amanda Elbogen told an LA judge: “She’s a real estate agent; she should know what properties she owns.”
Zhang was arrested at Los Angeles airport on October 4 as she tried to board a flight to Shanghai and charged with acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. She appeared to live a life of luxury with her family in Irvine, Orange County, jet-setting around the world using the commissions earned from her multi-million dollar property sales at JC Pacific Capital, a small brokerage that serves southern California.
She and her husband, Edric Ding, a fellow real estate agent at the same firm, amassed a sprawling property empire and have raked in close to $16 million from selling homes they own.
But, concerns have been raised about the source of her wealth by a realtor who works with them at JC Pacific Capital.
“I’m shocked to hear that,” a colleague who wished to remain anonymous told The Post upon finding out how many homes she owns.
“It is out of the question to earn that much from commission and become a real estate mogul. The average condo here is $1.5 million. Maybe she really was working for China.”
Prosecutors have accused Zhang of having access to $190,000 in a secret Chinese cryptocurrency account that she “was still receiving profits from” and pointed to her brother having ties to the Chinese government.
Last week, a judge in an LA courthouse ruled that Zhang was a flight risk and ordered for her to be taken into custody by US Marshals without bail.
Zhang received her real estate license in September 2016. In the decade since, she has sold at least 125 homes ranging from $510,000 up to $8.8 million, according to her Zillow profile.
A number of these homes were sold in Arcadia, the city which saw its former mayor Eileen Wang, 58, plead guilty to illegally acting as an agent for the Chinese Communist Party in May.
A close inspection of these transactions appears to show that Chinese-born California businessman Fatai Miao was involved in a property deal facilitated by the realtor. He sold a $4 million six-bedroom mansion in Arcadia last year.
Miao, 54, is believed to be the “individual 1” cited in federal court documents who accompanied Zhang to Seattle in September 2025 as she allegedly spied on the Taiwanese president’s son.
Surveillance camera photographs are said to have caught Zhang sitting in a car with a man taking pictures of his house and close relatives.
Miao is not accused of any wrongdoing, but he is a person of interest in the FBI’s investigation of Zhang, according to CBS News.
The construction entrepreneur has been in China for the last two weeks to look after his wife who is receiving treatment there, relatives told the outlet.
FBI agents serving a search warrant entered his empty Irvine home on Sunday shortly after Zhang was nabbed at the airport.
“Me and my sister got a call on Sunday noon,” Miao’s son, Jiaqi Miao, told CBS News. “Someone says he’s from the FBI and he has a search warrant. I thought he’s a scammer.
“Then I checked the security camera at our house and I see several government agents holding a gun outside. I was trying to open the door for them using the remote app, but it was too late. They already used the door-breach thing.”
Jiaqi revealed that his father had been friends with Zhang for more than a decade and she even temporarily lived in his Arcadia property.
He insisted that Miao is not an undercover Chinese spy. “To be honest, I don’t think he’s smart enough to do those things,” he told CBS News. “He always follows others.
“My father is the only one in our family to choose to get US citizenship. That’s why I think there’s no reason why he would want to work with the Chinese government.”
In another deal facilitated by Zhang, a recent university graduate from China purchased a sprawling six-bedroom home for more than $3.5 million.
Zhang, Ding, Miao and JC Pacific did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.
In a previous statement, JC Pacific said: “JC Pacific is aware of the federal charges involving Wanying ‘Heather’ Zhang, a real estate professional affiliated with our brokerage.
“We understand the seriousness of the allegations and the public interest surrounding this matter. JC Pacific will cooperate fully with federal authorities and respond appropriately to any lawful requests for information or assistance.”
But, the company added that “Heather has our support during this process. She has been a valued member of our professional community, and our thoughts are also with her family as they navigate what is undoubtedly an extraordinarily difficult time.”
