LOS ANGELES
FBI agents on Thursday arrested a Chino Hills man on federal charges that allege he acted as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), officials stated.
This happened while Yaoning “Mike” Sun served as the campaign manager for a political candidate who was elected in 2022 to the city council of a Southern California city.
Sun, 64, was arrested without incident.
A criminal complaint filed Tuesday charges Sun with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign power.
Sun is also accused of conspiring with Chen Jun, who was recently sentenced to federal prison for acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government and targeting U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China.
According to the complaint, Sun served as campaign manager and close confidant to a Southern California politician, identified in the affidavit as “Individual 1,” during their 2022 local election campaign.
While working on the campaign, Sun allegedly coordinated with Chen, who discussed with Chinese officials ways for the Chinese government to influence U.S. politicians, particularly on Taiwan-related issues.
After Individual 1’s election victory in November 2022, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the results, which was sent to Chinese officials. The officials reportedly responded positively and expressed gratitude, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also states that Chen sent a message to Individual 1, praising their work and encouraging them to continue making “Chinese people proud.”
“The conduct alleged in this complaint is deeply concerning – the defendant is charged with acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China to influence our political system,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “We cannot permit hostile foreign powers to meddle in the governance of our country. My office and our law enforcement partners will continue to prioritize the security of our nation and the preservation of the liberties that make this country the envy of the world.”
“This case highlights the breadth of the PRC’s relentless intelligence and malign influence activities targeting the United States,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to identify PRC intelligence operations, disrupt PRC information laundering networks, and bring to justice those who seek to engage in criminal conspiracies to undermine the integrity of our elected officials.”
About a month after Individual 1’s 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.
Chen subsequently described the lunch as “successful” as participants agreed to establish a “US-China Friendship Promotional Association.”
While Individual 1 did not attend the meeting, Chen described Individual 1 as being part of the association and Sun serving as vice president. “This is the basic team dedicated for us,” Chen wrote to the Chinese government official.
Chen instructed Sun in early 2023 to write up another report for Chinese officials describing “you and me cultivating and assisting [Individual 1’s] success,” according to the affidavit.
In a February 2023 draft of Sun’s report, Sun described his personal background, his history of working against “Chinese secessionist forces,” and boasted that, “most proudly of all, during the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, I orchestrated and organized my team to win the election for city council member candidate [Individual 1].”
In subsequent communications outlined in the affidavit, Chen instructed Sun to include a section on Individual 1, who was to be described as a “New Political Star” with connections to other prominent politicians.
The affidavit also states that Chen and Sun discussed their “past struggle fighting Taiwanese independence forces . . . over the years and fighting ‘FLG’ [Falun Gong] influences” in a California city.
In February 2023, Sun and Chen drafted a second report to PRC officials that requested an $80,000 budget to fund additional pro-PRC activities and to combat “anti-China forces” in the United States.
After Chen and Sun discussed a planned trip to the PRC to meet with “leadership,” and after Chen directed Sun to schedule a meeting with the Chinese consul general in Los Angeles, Sun and Individual 1 traveled to China in late August 2023.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The charge of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The charge of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years.
This FBI is conducting the ongoing investigation in this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ryan, Chief of the National Security Division, and Assistant United States Attorney Amanda Elbogen of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.