WorldTHE INTERVIEW
Inside accused spy Wanying Zhang's California real estate empire
Zhang allegedly used fake records across multiple California properties, according to the New York Post investigation; a concerning trend in real estate documentation.
Watch it as it aired: Chip Darnell on this story, from The Five O'Clock at 5:11 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are New York Post's, the jokes are ours.
From the show
At a glance
- First reported by New York Post: “Inside accused Chinese spy Wanying Zhang’s shady multimillion-dollar California real estate empire”.
- Covered on BBN on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 5:11 PM ET on The Five O'Clock, by Chip Darnell.
- Topics: Chinese, California.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
What BBN said about it
Marguerite SzczepanskiI see paper lying, Chip. An accused spy, a multimillion-dollar California real estate empire, and records that allegedly don't hold up.
Marguerite SzczepanskiI laminated that headline this afternoon.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo the New York Post reports the properties are tied to alleged fake records, and she's accused, which means nothing is proven.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorDoes that change your view?
Marguerite SzczepanskiIt changes nothing, because I already knew. I laminated my own deed in twenty nineteen, and I laminated the laminator's receipt.
Marguerite SzczepanskiNobody forges a laminated receipt.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorA receipt for the laminator.
Marguerite SzczepanskiBackup. I laminated a map of every county in California, and I'll tell you, forty-one of them look suspicious.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMarguerite, where exactly is your bunker? Because you said forty feet down, but I'd like to know whose land it sits on.
Marguerite SzczepanskiThat is classified, Chip. It is a fortress, and I own every inch of it, mostly, by which I mean I hold a long lease.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorA lease. So the fortress has a landlord.
Marguerite SzczepanskiA very reasonable man named Gary. He accepts payment on the first of the month, which I laminated. Also laminated the receipt.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAnd the unit, is it by chance in a strip mall, next to a mattress store, with a drive-through coffee place across the lot?
Marguerite SzczepanskiIt's a storage facility, and the gate code is laminated, so I'd say we are safe from fraud. Mostly from fraud.

Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorMarguerite, one last question. Where is that lease right now?
Marguerite SzczepanskiUpstairs, Chip. In my car. The car is also laminated, in a sense, because I put a sheet on the dashboard.
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