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A California man has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent Sugar in government Southern California While working as a campaign consultant for a local politician.
Yaoning “Mike” Sun Expected to appear in court in los angeles on Monday to enter his plea as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, according to a copy of the agreement available in online court records. It was signed earlier this month by Sun, his lawyer and a prosecutor. According to the agreement, if the plea is accepted by the judge, Sun faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles declined to comment on the deal. Sun’s attorney Adam Olin also declined to comment.
Under the agreement, Sun agrees to act as a foreign agent on behalf of the People’s Republic of China from 2022 to 2024 without notifying the US Attorney General as required by law. The US attorney’s office said Sun is a Chinese citizen living legally in the US.
The case against Sun was filed during President Joe Biden’s administration at a time when concerns grew that the Chinese government had created a network of associates to influence local elections in the US by installing politicians it deemed friendly. Beijing And can help promote Chinese interests. Sun was accused of conspiring with Chen Jun, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison in New York for acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
According to the agreement, Sun received instructions from Chinese government officials to post pro-Beijing content on a website he ran with another man who became a candidate for local office and won election in 2022. The agreement states that Sun worked as a campaign consultant for the man and drafted a report for Chinese officials seeking funding and assignments for more pro-Beijing activities over the next year.
“Defendants and Individual 1 received and executed instructions from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the Website, and occasionally sought approval from PRC government officials to post other pro-PRC content on the Website,” the agreement states.
The man is not named in court papers. Sun was listed as the campaign treasurer for Arcadia City Council candidate Eileen Wang when she filed a campaign statement in February 2022, according to records on the city’s website. Arcadia is a city of about 60,000 people northeast of Los Angeles, with a large Asian population, according to census data.
Following Sun’s arrest in December, Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto said Sun had no ties to the city. Lazzaretto said Wang has not been charged and plans to cooperate with federal authorities. A message was left for Wang at Arcadia City Hall on Monday.