BUSTED: California Mayor Charged With Spying For China

How many Chinese spies are currently in high-level positions across the United States?

A California mayor has just admitted to acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the Communist Chinese government.

Eileen Wang, who served as Arcadia’s mayor, has resigned from office after accepting a plea deal from federal prosecutors.

Wang’s resignation comes after evidence presented by prosecutors showed she worked with the CCP to push propaganda to American citizens.

NBC 4 Los Angeles reported more on the charges Wang faced:

The former mayor of Arcadia was expected to plead guilty after being charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday.

Eileen Wang, who was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022, reached a plea deal with the federal government after she was accused of doing the bidding for the Chinese government via a “news” website.

Wang, 58, as well as Yaoning “Mike” Sun of Chino Hills allegedly worked at the direction of the People’s Republic of China and operated “U.S. News Center,” a website that purposed to be a news source for the local Chinese American community between late 2020 and through 2022.

The DOJ said Wang and Sun received directives from Chinese officials to post content that’s favorable to the Chinese government and spread propaganda on behalf of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Wang ran many of her campaign ads in Chinese when she ran for Arcadia’s City Council and later for mayor:

Arcadia, California, Mayor Eileen Wang has been charged with acting as an illegal foreign agent to China. pic.twitter.com/C2gfgQkxve

— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) May 12, 2026

The DOJ released the following post on X:

The mayor of Arcadia, California, has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Justice Department announced today.

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the… pic.twitter.com/joIXV7xNQK

— National Security Division, U.S. Dept of Justice (@DOJNatSec) May 11, 2026

Read the DOJ’s full report below:

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 today.

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.

In a related filing, Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which comes with a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

She is expected to make her initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Wang is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks.

Wang 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.

“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”

“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “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.”

“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. “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. Protecting the rule of law and the transparency of our democratic process remains at the core of the FBI’s mission, and we will continue working alongside our partners to safeguard the integrity of our elections and keep hostile actors from undermining the voices of the American people.”

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The news comes as President Trump is set to visit Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.