A Chino Hills, California A man has been arrested for allegedly working as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) while also serving as campaign manager for a local politician who was elected president in 2022.
The USA Ministry of Justice (DOJ) said 64-year-old Yaoning “Mike” Sun was arrested Thursday and charged with acting as an illegal agent of China and conspiring with another man, Chen Jun, who was sentenced to prison in November for bribery and also acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Sun served as a campaign manager for a Southern California politician who was not named in the complaint and identified only as “Individual 1.” Individual 1 was ultimately elected to council in 2022 in a city not named in the complaint.
Sun and Chen communicated during the campaign to get the individual elected.
Chen Jun, with whom Yaoning “Mike” Sun allegedly conspired, was sentenced to prison in November for bribery and acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government. (Ministry of Justice)
The DOJ said Chen had reportedly spoken with Chinese government officials about how China could “influence” local US politicians, especially on the topic of Taiwan.
Shortly after Individual 1 was elected president in November 2022, Chen reportedly told Sun to prepare a report on the election. The report was sent to Chinese government officials, who responded positively and expressed their gratitude, according to the complaint.
Nearly a month after the person was elected, Chen also hosted a luncheon with Sun and others at a restaurant in Rowland Heights. The meeting was described by Chen to a PRC official as a “core members lunch,” the DOJ said. Individual 1 was reportedly not present at the lunch, although Chen told Chinese government officials that the individual was part of the “basic team assigned to us.”
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Chen told the PRC official that the lunch was “successful,” adding that attendees agreed to establish a “US-China Friendship Promotion Association.”
In early 2023, Chen Sun is said to have commissioned another report Officials of the People’s Republic of China about the two who “cultivate and assist” in Individual 1’s success.
When the second report was completed in February 2023, Sun Chen sent a proposal to combat “anti-China forces” by marching in a parade on America’s Independence Day in Washington, DC, the complaint said.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after participating in a group photo during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, November 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
As the two men continued their efforts in the US, Sun reportedly asked the People’s Republic of China to provide them with a budget of $80,000.
The complaint alleges that Chen and Sun discussed a planned trip to China to meet with “leadership.” It also claims that Sun was instructed by Chen to arrange a meeting with the Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles. In August 2023, Sun and Individual 1 ultimately traveled to China, the complaint alleges.
Sun risks a prison sentence of up to ten years for this act as an illegal agent from a foreign government if convicted.
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He also faces a maximum sentence of five years behind bars for conspiracy to commit a crime against the US
