Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge after admitting she acted on behalf of the People’s Republic of China, and she resigned from the Arcadia City Council, the city said. The plea agreement, filed by prosecutors, says eileen wang and a campaign associate ran a website that posted material at the direction of PRC officials.
Federal filings and prosecutors describe coordinated activity in which Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun operated a site called U.S. News Center that appeared to serve the local Chinese American community but published content provided by PRC government officials. Investigators point to encrypted WeChat communications, screenshots of readership counts, and messages exchanged after posts.
The filings name communications between Wang and a high level PRC intelligence operative identified as John Chen, and they note Sun previously pleaded guilty to the same statute and received a federal prison sentence, while another operative received a separate federal sentence. Wang was released on bond after her initial court appearance and is expected to enter a formal guilty plea in the coming weeks, according to court filings.
Arcadia officials said an internal review found no city finances, staff, or decision making were involved, Deputy City Manager Justine Bruno said in a city statement. Wang’s attorneys, Brian A. Sun and Jason Liang, said the conduct related to a media platform she once operated with someone she believed to be her fiancé, and not to city business. FBI officials framed the case as an example of foreign influence, with Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky and FBI Los Angeles assistant director Patrick Grandy issuing statements about the risk to democratic processes.
South Pasadena Link And Local Political Context
A domestic political action committee known as I APAC, formally I Chinese American Political Action Committee, provides the clearest local link to South Pasadena politics. I APAC endorsed Wang in her council campaign and later listed Charley Lu on a slate of endorsees for a municipal council race, according to public reports and the PAC’s announcement at a Rosemead event where Wang also attended to express support.
That endorsement was reported by U.S. News Center, the same banner under which Wang and Sun operated the website at issue in federal filings. The record shows Charley Lu lost the District 2 council race by 137 votes, 1,136 to 999, and that his campaign raised roughly $53,973 through pre election filings, while his opponent raised under $16,000 and reported most contributions from inside South Pasadena.
The public record contains no evidence that Charley Lu knew of or participated in the activities to which Wang has admitted, and he has not been charged. Local reporting also corrected an online misidentification of another man with a similar English name as the council candidate. South Pasadenan News found no documented independent expenditures by I APAC into the District 2 race, and I APAC later changed chairmanship while Lu remained on the PAC board as immediate past chair.
