The mayor of a Southern California city has resigned after agreeing to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, was charged with acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government and is expected to formally plead guilty in the coming weeks, federal prosecutors said.
US authorities said Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to one felony count, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
According to court documents, Wang allegedly worked with Chinese government officials between 2020 and 2022 to promote pro-Beijing propaganda through a Chinese-language website targeting the local Chinese-American community. Prosecutors said the content included material denying alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
The Justice Department said Wang failed to notify US authorities that she was acting on behalf of the Chinese government, as required under federal law.
City officials in Arcadia said the conduct referenced in the federal case took place before Wang assumed office in December 2022 and that no city funds or staff were involved.
Wang resigned from both the mayor’s post and the city council shortly after the charges were announced. (Newswire)