Federal prosecutors announced on May 11 (Monday) that Mayor Eileen Wang, representing Arcadia, California, an affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles, has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on U.S. soil, marking the latest case tied to Beijing’s influence operations targeting American institutions.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Wang, 58, was charged in federal court with illegally acting on behalf of a foreign government without notifying the U.S. attorney general, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. Wang was expected to make her initial appearance Monday afternoon in federal court in Los Angeles and is anticipated to formally enter her guilty plea in the coming weeks.
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‘Undermining our democracy’
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. Arcadia’s five-member city council rotates the mayoral position among council members.
Federal officials described the case as part of a broader effort to counter CCP influence operations inside the United States. “Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. He added that the plea agreement represented another step in ongoing U.S. efforts to combat CCP infiltration of American institutions. She has since resigned from her post.
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John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said elected officials are expected to serve only the interests of the American public. “Elected officials have a duty to serve the American people honestly and transparently, free from undisclosed foreign influence,” said Eisenberg, adding, “It is deeply disturbing that an elected official in the United States would agree to operate subject to the direction and control of a foreign government without disclosing that relationship.”
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Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, said Wang admitted to secretly advancing the interests of the Chinese government. “As Wang admitted, she secretly advanced the interests of the PRC government while serving in local elected office,” said Rozhavsky, adding, “Let this case serve as a warning: those who secretly act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our institutions will be identified, investigated, and held accountable.”
Patrick Grandy, head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said the public should be alarmed by allegations that an elected official “openly spread propaganda for the Chinese government.”
CCP-directed messaging
According to court documents, Wang worked with Yaoning “Mike” Sun, a Chino Hills resident, between late 2020 and 2022 under the “direction and control” of Chinese government officials. Prosecutors alleged the pair coordinated with others in the United States to advance CCP interests by disseminating pro-Beijing propaganda.
Sun previously pleaded guilty in October 2025 to acting as an unregistered foreign agent and was sentenced to four years in federal prison.
Investigators said Wang and Sun jointly operated a website called U.S. News Center, which publicly presented itself as a Chinese-American community news platform. Prosecutors allege the site was actually used to distribute political messaging directed by Chinese officials.
Court records state that in June 2021, a Chinese government official used an encrypted WeChat group to distribute pre-written articles to Wang and others. WeChat is a popular blogging and social media app used in China.
One article, originally published in the Los Angeles Times, promoted Beijing’s position on Xinjiang and claimed: “China’s Stance on the Xinjiang Issue – There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production. Spreading such rumor to do defame China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development…”
According to prosecutors, Wang reposted the article to her website within minutes and sent the link back to the Chinese official. Other members of the group reportedly did the same. The official later replied: “So fast, thank you everyone.”
Court documents further allege that Wang modified articles at the request of Chinese officials and later sent screenshots showing online traffic metrics. After Wang shared one screenshot showing an article had received 15,128 views, the official reportedly responded: “Excellent,” to which Wang replied: “Thank you, leader.”
Links to broader CCP influence
Prosecutors also alleged that Wang contacted John Chen in November 2021 to help amplify content published on her website. Court documents describe Chen as a senior figure connected to China’s intelligence apparatus who had attended high-level CCP events and even met Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Chen pleaded guilty in November 2024 in the Southern District of New York to acting as an illegal CCP agent and conspiring to bribe public officials. He was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison. Federal prosecutors said Chen and his associate Lin Feng acted under CCP direction between January and May 2023 to advance a campaign targeting Falun Gong practitioners in the United States.
The indictment alleged the pair attempted to manipulate an IRS whistleblower program in an effort to revoke the tax-exempt status of New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, a classical Chinese dance company founded by Falun Gong practitioners. Prosecutors said they also bribed an undercover FBI agent posing as an IRS official.
According to court filings, Chen stated during recorded conversations that the bribery scheme was intended to help achieve the CCP’s goal of “overthrowing Falun Gong.”
Earlier indictments involving Mike Sun also referenced cooperation with Chen in activities tied to Beijing’s overseas influence operations, which prosecutors linked to the CCP’s United Front Work Department and the “610 Office,” an extralegal security agency created to persecute Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual discipline rooted in the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Despite being peaceful in nature, the CCP launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice in July 1999. Since then, thousands have perished at the hands of Chinese police, with many still undergoing routine monitoring, arbitrary travel bans, and arrests.
In her plea agreement, Wang admitted she never informed the U.S. attorney general that she was acting on behalf of the Chinese government within the United States. She also acknowledged that her website never disclosed to readers that some articles were published under the direction of Chinese officials.
The FBI said the investigation remains ongoing.
