Alleged Chinese agent has ties to overseas scam group, federal court records show

Key Points:

• California realtor Wanying "Heather" Zhang was charged by the FBI with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for China, linked to surveillance of the Taiwanese president's son and connections to a Cambodian criminal organization involved in forced labor and multibillion-dollar scams.
• Zhang's associate, Fatai Miao, is connected to a $4.5 million Irvine home used as a stash house for alleged money laundering linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, though Miao has not been charged and recently fled to China on a one-way ticket.
• The Prince Group, a Cambodia-based conglomerate accused of operating forced-labor scam camps and cryptocurrency frauds totaling $15 billion, is tied to Zhang's network through business partnerships and luxury assets linked to alleged enforcer Chen Sokly.
• Despite these associations, Zhang and others like cryptocurrency trader Wenzhi "Wesley" Fei have not been charged with crimes related to the Prince Group or cartel money laundering, with Zhang's only formal charge relating to unregistered foreign agent activity.
• The Prince Group denies all accusations, calling the U.S. crackdown an asset grab, while investigations continue into the sprawling international criminal operations involving forced labor, fraud, and money laundering.