Yaoning ‘Mike’ Sun, Acting as Covert Agent of People’s Republic of China, California 2025

A San Bernardino County man was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison for acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including while serving as the campaign advisor for a political candidate who was elected to the city council of a Southern California city.

Yaoning ‘Mike’ Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner. Sun pleaded guilty in October 2025 to one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

"Federal law enforcement will not allow hostile foreign nations to infiltrate the governance of our nation’s political bodies," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli.

According to court documents, from at least 2022 to January 2024, Sun knowingly acted within the United States as an agent of the PRC and officials of its government – without notifying the Attorney General, as required by U.S. law.

Sun also closely surveilled the then-President of Taiwan during her April 2023 visit to Southern California, reporting directly to PRC officials on her movements.

In December 2022, Sun attended a meeting in Southern California with a group of other people, including Individual 1, whom PRC officials were told was a “team dedicated” to PRC interests, according to Sun’s plea agreement.

Sun’s report described various issues concerning “anti-China forces” overseas, including opposition to independence for Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang as well as issues involving Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China. The report further proposed “using our influence to shape the views of the American people and to resist the attempts of anti-China forces to undermine the friendship of U.S.-China relations.”>

Throughout 2022, Sun also worked as the campaign advisor for Individual 1 who was running for a city council seat in a Southern California city. Individual 1 was elected to that city council in November 2022.

"When Americans vote for elected officials, they expect them to represent the interests of their constituents – not those of a foreign adversary like the Chinese government," said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.

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