Arcadia mayor Eileen Wang resigns, admitting she was a secret Chinese agent

Eileen Wang, 58, agreed to a plea deal on felony charges and abruptly resigned on Monday. She now faces a potential sentence of up to ten years in federal prison, with her bond set at $25,000 in a Los Angeles court.

In a statement, her attorneys said she "apologizes and is sorry for the mistakes she has made in her personal life."

Assistant US attorney Bill Essayli called the plea a "success in our determination to defend the homeland against China's efforts to corrupt our institutions."

Prosecutors said Wang's illegal work happened between 2020 and 2022, before she was elected to the Arcadia City Council. She and her then-fiancé, Yaoning "Mike" Sun, 65, worked directly with China to promote the country's interests on a website.

Their site, US News Centre, was billed as a local news source but was allegedly used to publish pro-PRC propaganda. In one example, a PRC official contacted Wang via WeChat and sent pre-written articles denying genocide in Xinjiang. Wang posted the article to her site within minutes.

Arcadia city manager Dominic Lazzaretto called the allegations "deeply troubling." He reassured residents the conduct happened before she took office and that no "City finances, staff, or decision-making processes were involved" in the scheme.

The case is part of a broader federal probe into Chinese influence. Her co-conspirator Mike Sun, who also served as her campaign advisor, was sentenced in February 2026. He will serve four years in federal prison.