A man was charged for allegedly acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government while working as a campaign manager for a political candidate in Southern California who was elected in 2022 to the city council.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, was also accused of conspiring with another man — John Chen — who had been plotting to target U.S.-based practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice banned in China, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday. Chen was sentenced last month to 20 months in prison for acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and bribing an Internal Revenue Service agent.
Sun, a Chinese national who resided in Chino Hills, California, had served as the campaign manager and “close personal confidante” for a political candidate who ran for city council in Southern California in 2022, prosecutors said. According to the complaint, Sun communicated with Chen about his efforts to get the candidate elected.
“Chen allegedly discussed with Chinese government officials how the (People’s Republic of China) could ‘influence’ local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan,” prosecutors said.