An Orange County real estate agent has been charged with secretly working for China and spying on relatives of foreign officials living in the United States, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Wanying "Heather" Zhang, 34, was arrested Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport before a flight to Shanghai, CBS News reports. She faces one count of acting as an unregistered agent of the People's Republic of China from June to September 2025. The charge carries up to 10 years in prison.

According to the Justice Department, Zhang traveled to China in June 2025 and got a task there. On Aug. 29, she flew from John Wayne Airport to Las Vegas, and on Sept. 1 she went to the Pacific Northwest. Prosecutors say she tracked her targets and recorded license plates.

Law enforcement sources told CBS News that one target was Ting-Yu Lai, the son of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who lived near Seattle. Prosecutors say she sent texts such as "Saw him. Young male" and "I am videorecording." Agents later searched her home in Irvine.

Zhang appeared in court Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve Kim moved her detention hearing to Wednesday. She is represented by a federal public defender, Chad Pennington. Neither China nor Taiwan commented. Like anyone charged with a crime, Zhang is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Federal officials say the case is part of a wider fight against foreign spying. Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg and U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli both spoke out about the arrest. The law Zhang is charged under requires people who act for foreign governments to notify the U.S. attorney general.

China claims self-governed Taiwan as its own territory. Prosecutors have not said whether others are being investigated.

What we know: Zhang is charged and held, with a detention hearing Wednesday.
What we don't: Who else she may have watched, and whether others were involved.