A Southern California man is expected to plead guilty Monday in downtown Los Angeles to illegally acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China to influence a local city council election.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, could face up to 10 years behind bars when sentenced, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors contend Sun served as the campaign manager and close personal confidante for an unnamed Southern California politician who was running for city council of a city in the area — not named in court papers — in 2022. The candidate was elected to the council in November 2022.
Sources familiar with the case say the unnamed politician is Arcadia Mayor Pro Tem Eileen Wang.
The criminal complaint against Sun filed in December 2024 in Los Angeles federal court charges him with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign power. He was also charged with conspiring with another man, John Chen, also known as Chen Jun, who was sentenced to federal prison last year for acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and plotting to target United States-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China, federal prosecutors said.
Sun acknowledged in his plea agreement that at the direction and control of Chinese government officials, he coordinated with individuals in the U.S. to promote the interests of the PRC by, among other things, promoting pro-Beijing propaganda..
Federal prosecutors said that in February 2023, Sun drafted a report for PRC officials to solicit additional money. The report summarized his personal experience, including past service in the People’s Liberation Army. In the report, according to Sun’s plea agreement, the defendant stated that he had worked in the United States to lead “delegations of U.S. dignitaries and cultural workers to China” and, during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, helped the candidate thought to be Wang win the election for city council in Arcadia. In the report, Sun called the candidate a “new political star,” prosecutors said.
Before acting on behalf of the PRC, Sun admitted, he did not notify the Attorney General, as required by law, that he was acting in the United States as an agent of the PRC, according to the plea agreement.
During the city council campaign, Sun allegedly communicated with Chen regarding his efforts to get the politician elected. Chen discussed with Chinese government officials how the PRC could “influence” local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan, according to the complaint.
In November 2022, shortly after the politician was elected to the city council, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the election that was sent to Chinese government officials, who responded positively and expressed thanks, according to the complaint affidavit.
Chen also sent a message to the newly elected politician stating that the politician was “doing a good job, I hope you can continue the good work, make Chinese people proud,” the affidavit states.
About a month after the election, Chen arranged a lunch at a Rowland Heights restaurant with Sun and others, a gathering that Chen described to a PRC official as a “core member lunch,” the affidavit alleges.
Court papers state Chen subsequently described the lunch as “successful” as participants agreed to establish a “U.S.-China Friendship Promotional Association.”
“This case highlights the breadth of the PRC’s relentless intelligence and malign influence activities targeting the United States,” according to a statement from Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles bureau, when charges were brought against Sun.