LOS ANGELES, Calif.- A California mayor has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The official, Eileen Wang, 58, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors announced Monday that Wang was charged with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. She is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles and formally enter her guilty plea in the coming weeks.
According to prosecutors, Wang worked under the direction and control of Chinese government officials between late 2020 and 2022, before later being elected to public office in California in 2022.
Court documents state that Wang coordinated with Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, to promote pro-China messaging in the United States through a website known as U.S. News Center, which portrayed itself as a news outlet serving the Chinese American community. Prosecutors alleged that Wang and Sun received directives from Chinese officials and published content intended to advance the interests of the People’s Republic of China.
Sun previously pleaded guilty in a related federal case and is serving a four-year prison sentence.
Federal authorities said Wang used the encrypted messaging application WeChat to communicate with Chinese officials who provided prewritten articles and propaganda materials for publication. In one example described in court filings, Wang allegedly reposted content denying allegations of genocide and forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region shortly after receiving it from a Chinese official.
Prosecutors also alleged that Wang communicated with John Chen, whom court documents described as a high-level member of China’s intelligence apparatus. Chen previously pleaded guilty in a separate federal case involving acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
In her plea agreement, Wang admitted she did not notify the U.S. Attorney General that she was acting in the United States on behalf of the Chinese government and failed to disclose that some website content had been directed by foreign officials.
The FBI is investigating the case.
