How Eileen Wang, Arcadia Mayor, was caught acting as illegal Chinese agent in US?

Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Justice Department announced on Monday (May 11, 2026). Eileen Wang, 58, of Arcadia, is charged via information with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

Wang, in a related filing, agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which comes with a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office release. Wang was effectively caught through a trail of digital communications, apparent coordinated propaganda activity, and admissions contained in her plea agreement.

How was Wang caught?

According to the DOJ press release, investigators uncovered alleged evidence showing Wang worked with Yaoning “Mike” Sun under the direction of officials tied to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Authorities said the pair operated a website called US News Center, which appeared to serve the local Chinese American community but allegedly published content directed by PRC officials.

In November 2021, Wang communicated with John Chen, a high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus, who regularly attended elite Chinese Communist Party functions, including military parades, and met personally with PRC President Xi Jinping, according to court documents.

Wang and Sun followed directives from PRC government officials

Wang and Sun followed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website. A major part of the case appears to stem from encrypted WeChat group chats. Prosecutors said PRC officials sent Wang pre-written propaganda articles and directives, which she then allegedly posted on her website within minutes.

Investigators cited conversations in which officials thanked Wang for publishing the material quickly, while Wang allegedly responded with links, screenshots of readership numbers, and messages such as “Thank you leader.”

"In June 2021, a PRC official contacted Wang and other individuals via the WeChat encrypted messaging application with pre-written news articles, including a PRC official-written essay in the Los Angeles Times that stated: “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 [sic] China, destroy Xinjiang’s safety and stability, weaken local economy, suppress China’s development…,” the press release revealed.

“By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, as quoted in the press release. “Let this serve as a clear warning: Individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice,” he added.

According to her plea agreement, from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, worked at the direction and control of PRC government officials and coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote the PRC’s interests by, among other things, promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the United States, the Attorney’s Office press release stated.

Wang and Sun worked together to operate the U.S. News Center, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community. They received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the website.

In her plea agreement, Wang admitted that she did not notify the Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of the PRC, that she was located in the United States when she engaged in these acts, and that she did not disclose on her website that some of its content had been posted at the direction of members of the PRC government.

Wang likely to plead guilty in coming weeks

Wang made her initial appearance on the afternoon of May 11, 2026, in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. She is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks. She was elected in November 2022 to the Arcadia City Council, a five-person governing body from which the mayor is selected on a rotating basis. The FBI is investigating this matter.