Arcadia, California, Mayor Eileen Wang has been federally charged with acting in the United States as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China and has agreed to plead guilty, according to the Justice Department.
Wang, 58, is charged by information with one felony count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, officials said.
The Justice Department said Wang is expected to make her initial appearance in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. She is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks.
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. Arcadia’s mayor is selected on a rotating basis from the five-member council.
According to her plea agreement, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, worked from late 2020 through 2022 at the direction and control of PRC government officials. Prosecutors said they coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote PRC interests, including by posting pro-PRC material in the United States.
Sun is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Prosecutors said Wang and Sun operated U.S. News Center, a website presented as a news source for the local Chinese American community. Court documents said they received and carried out instructions from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the site.
The Justice Department said Wang admitted she did not notify the Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of the PRC. She also admitted she did not disclose that some website content had been posted at the direction of PRC government members.
The FBI is investigating the case.
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