Southern California mayor resigns after agreeing to plead guilty in US foreign agent case

CALIFORNIA, United States: The mayor of the Southern California city of Arcadia has resigned and agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of China, according to the US Justice Department on 11 May 2026.

Federal prosecutors said Eileen Wang, 58, admitted to operating under the direction and control of Chinese government officials between late 2020 and 2022 while helping disseminate pro-Beijing propaganda in the United States.

Wang resigned from the Arcadia City Council and stepped down as mayor within hours of the criminal case becoming public, according to the office of Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto.

Arcadia is a city of about 50,000 residents located northeast of Los Angeles.

The Justice Department announced that Wang had been charged in federal court with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

In a plea agreement filed on 1 April 2026 and unsealed on 11 May, Wang agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Wang appeared briefly before a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles on 11 May.

Proceedings were conducted through a Mandarin interpreter.

The court set bond at US$25,000 and instructed lawyers to arrange a future hearing date for Wang to formally enter her guilty plea.

Federal authorities alleged Wang worked closely with Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, California, to advance Chinese government interests through a Chinese-language website called “US News Center”.

Prosecutors said the website presented itself as a legitimate local news platform serving the Chinese American community but was actually used to distribute propaganda favourable to Beijing.

According to the plea agreement, Wang and Sun received instructions from Chinese officials to publish pro-China material online.

One example cited by prosecutors involved articles disputing allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region.

The Justice Department said a Chinese official sent Wang and others pre-written articles through the encrypted messaging platform WeChat in June 2021.

One article, later reposted on Wang’s website, claimed there was “no genocide in Xinjiang” and denied allegations of forced labour linked to cotton production.

Minutes after receiving the article, Wang allegedly uploaded it to her website and sent the official a link confirming publication.

According to prosecutors, the official replied: “So fast, thank you everyone.”

In another exchange in August 2021, prosecutors alleged Wang edited a propaganda article at the request of a Chinese official and later shared website traffic statistics showing the article had received more than 15,000 views.

After the official responded “Great!”, Wang allegedly replied: “Thank you leader.”

The plea agreement stated Wang admitted she never notified the US Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of the People’s Republic of China.

Prosecutors also alleged Wang communicated with John Chen, described in court documents as a senior figure in China’s intelligence apparatus who had met Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to the Justice Department, Wang sent Chen a message in November 2021 asking him to share one of her website’s articles, writing: “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”

Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty in New York to acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

Sun was sentenced in February 2026 to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said public officials in the United States should serve only the people they represent.

“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,” Eisenberg said.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said the case reflected broader concerns over foreign influence operations targeting American institutions.

“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” Essayli said in a statement released by the Justice Department.

FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said Wang had “secretly served the interests of the Chinese government”.

“Individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice,” Rozhavsky said.

The FBI investigated the case.

Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 and became mayor in February 2026 under the council’s rotating leadership system.

A statement released by Wang’s lawyers said she “apologises and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life”.

City Manager Lazzaretto said the conduct described in the federal case ended before Wang took office in December 2022.

“No city finances, staff or decision-making processes were involved,” the statement said.