California Mayor Accused of Acting as Illegal Foreign Agent, Faces Federal Charges

Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, has been federally charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Justice Department announced that Wang, 58, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Her initial court appearance was scheduled for this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, with a guilty plea expected in the coming weeks. Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022, with the mayor position rotating among council members.

The charges stem from Wang’s alleged activities between late 2020 and 2022, during which she and another individual, Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, California, reportedly worked under the direction of PRC government officials. Their alleged coordination with U.S.-based individuals aimed to advance the PRC’s interests, including the promotion of pro-PRC propaganda within the United States. Sun is currently serving a four-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in October 2025 to a similar charge of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

According to court documents and Wang’s plea agreement, she and Sun were involved in operating a website named U.S. News Center. This website presented itself as a news source for the local Chinese American community. Both Wang and Sun are accused of receiving and executing directives from PRC government officials to publish content favorable to the PRC on this platform.

One specific instance cited in the plea agreement involved a PRC official contacting Wang and others via WeChat in June 2021. This communication included pre-written news articles, such as an essay attributed to a PRC official that defended China’s position on Xinjiang, denying accusations of genocide and forced labor. Shortly after receiving this material, Wang posted the article on her website and informed the PRC official, who expressed thanks for the prompt action. This pattern continued, with Wang and others in the group sharing similar articles on their respective “news” websites. Wang also reportedly made edits to an article at the request of a PRC official and provided a screenshot indicating the article had garnered over 15,000 views, to which the official responded positively, and Wang replied, “Thank you leader.”

Further interactions detailed in the case include communications in November 2021 between Wang and John Chen, described as a high-ranking member of the PRC’s intelligence apparatus. Court documents indicate Chen had connections to elite Chinese Communist Party events and had met with PRC President Xi Jinping. Wang allegedly requested Chen to post a “news” article from her website, stating that the content was desired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Chen was later sentenced to 20 months in federal prison in November 2024 after pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York to charges of acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

Wang has admitted in her plea agreement that she did not inform the Attorney General of her actions as an agent of the PRC while in the United States. She also did not disclose on her website that some of its content was published at the direction of PRC government members. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is overseeing the investigation into this matter.

Article by Ken Buckler, based upon information from the U.S. Department of Justice.

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