Resigned California mayor admits acting as illegal agent of China

NEW YORK — Former Arcadia, California mayor Eileen Wang faces up to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the United States.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Wang admitted that she secretly served the interests of the Chinese government while operating in the United States.

FBI Counterintelligence and Espionage Division Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said:

"Let this serve as a clear warning: Individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice. Protecting the rule of law and the transparency of our democratic process remains at the core of the FBI's mission, and we will continue working alongside our partners to safeguard the integrity of our elections and keep hostile actors from undermining the voices of the American people."

Rozhavsky made the statement in a news release issued by the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. The council is a five-member governing body from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis.

Born in Sichuan, China, Wang later immigrated to the United States, where she became an educator and community leader. She previously served as president of the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce USA.

According to her plea agreement, from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning "Mike" Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, acted under the direction and control of government officials of the People's Republic of China. They coordinated with individuals in the United States to advance Beijing's interests, including the dissemination of pro-PRC propaganda.

Sun pleaded guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and is currently serving a four-year federal prison sentence.

Wang and Sun jointly operated US News Center, a website that presented itself as a news source for the local Chinese-American community. Prosecutors said the pair received directives from PRC officials and published pro-China content on the website at the direction of the Chinese government.

Federal investigators also uncovered communications between Wang and John Chen, whom court records identified as a high-level operative linked to the PRC intelligence apparatus.

In November 2024, Chen was convicted in the Southern District of New York of acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiring to bribe a public official. He was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison.

Wang was released on bail pending sentencing.

According to a Reuters report, Wang resigned from the Arcadia city council, along with the position of mayor she assumed in February on a rotating basis.

The report quoted a statement by Wang's attorneys as saying that she "apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life."

This is not the first time the US government has arrested individuals accused of operating on behalf of the Chinese government within the United States.

In May 2026, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted US citizen Lu Jianwang of operating an unauthorized overseas "police station" in Manhattan's Chinatown on behalf of China's Ministry of Public Security. Prosecutors said the outpost was used to monitor, intimidate, and harass Chinese dissidents living in the United States.

Meanwhile, Linda Sun, a former senior aide to former New York Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, was charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the People's Republic of China. Federal prosecutors alleged that she received millions of dollars in kickbacks and luxury gifts in exchange for advancing Beijing's interests, including blocking Taiwanese officials from state events and influencing official messaging regarding the Uyghur minority. — VDV, GMA News