Eileen Wang (Photo: City of Arcadia, City Hall: Ann Hunnewell)
Federal prosecutors have charged the mayor of Arcadia with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
By News Desk
Eileen Wang, 58, of Arcadia, was charged in federal court with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Prosecutors said Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Wang was expected to make her initial appearance in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles on Monday afternoon and is anticipated to formally enter her guilty plea in the coming weeks.
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. Wang became mayor through Arcadia’s rotating mayoral system, in which councilmembers select the position from among themselves rather than through a citywide public vote.
“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement. “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”
Federal authorities allege that from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, worked under the direction and control of Chinese government officials to promote pro-China messaging in the United States.
Sun is currently serving a four-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
According to court documents, Wang and Sun operated U.S. News Center, a website presented as a news outlet serving the local Chinese American community. Prosecutors said the pair received and carried out directives from Chinese officials to publish pro-Beijing content.
In one example cited by prosecutors, a Chinese government official sent Wang and others pre-written articles through the encrypted messaging app WeChat in June 2021. One article denied allegations of genocide and forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
Minutes later, prosecutors said, Wang posted the article on her website and sent the official a link to the publication. Other participants in the group chat reportedly did the same, prompting the official to respond, “So fast, thank you everyone.”
In another incident in August 2021, Wang and several others shared links to the same article on their websites. Prosecutors said Wang later edited the article at the request of a Chinese official and provided screenshots showing the article had received more than 15,000 views. According to court filings, the official responded, “Great!,” and Wang replied, “Thank you leader.”
Court documents also allege that in November 2021, Wang communicated with John Chen, described by prosecutors as a senior figure connected to the Chinese intelligence apparatus. Wang allegedly asked Chen to distribute a “news” article from her website, writing, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”
Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in New York to acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
As part of her plea agreement, Wang admitted she failed to notify the U.S. Attorney General that she was acting in the United States on behalf of the Chinese government. She also acknowledged that her website did not disclose that some content had been published at the direction of Chinese government officials.
“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California.
Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said Wang’s actions “secretly served the interests of the Chinese government” and warned that individuals attempting to influence U.S. democracy on behalf of foreign governments “will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.”
The FBI is investigating the case. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division are handling the prosecution.
Update
In response to the charges, Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto said the allegations “raise serious concerns” but emphasized that the case involves “individual conduct” and not the city government itself.
“The allegations at the center of this case, that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official, are deeply troubling,” Lazzaretto said in a statement. “We take them seriously.”
Lazzaretto said the conduct described in the federal case “ceased after Ms. Wang was sworn into office in December 2022” and that an internal review found no involvement of city finances, staff or decision-making processes.
“All City Council actions are taken by the body as a whole and no single member holds unilateral authority,” he said. “We have found no actions that require reconsideration or that are invalidated as a result of these developments.”
According to the city manager, the remainder of the City Council is not under investigation and city operations “continue without interruption.”
Lazzaretto also said the City Council plans to select a new mayor and mayor pro tem at its next meeting and will discuss representation for Arcadia’s District 3 through the next election cycle in November 2026.
[This piece has been updated to include additional information.]
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