The United States accuses a “Chinese agent” of political manipulation.

As they announced criminal charges against a Chinese person Thursday, US prosecutors claimed that China’s ruling Communist Party had influenced state politics through the deployment of an agent in California.

Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, was taken into custody by FBI investigators at his residence in Chino Hills, close to Los Angeles, on suspicion of acting as a foreign government agent while becoming active in local politics.

According to the lawsuit, Sun was a close confidante and campaign manager for an unidentified candidate seeking local elected office in 2022.

He is accused of plotting to get the lawmaker elected during the campaign alongside Chen Jun, a Chinese national who was imprisoned last month for serving as an unlawful Beijing agent.

According to the US Department of Justice, Chen spoke with representatives of the Chinese government about their ability to sway local lawmakers, especially about the Taiwan problem.

Taiwan is a self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory.

Beijing, which has stated that it will never rule out using force to subjugate Taiwan, has been charged with influencing international opinion on the matter through a variety of strategies, including local influence campaigns.

According to the documents, Chen gave Sun instructions to write an election report to be given to Chinese government authorities once the local legislator was elected in late 2022. The officials thanked Sun for his efforts.

According to United States Attorney Martin Estrada, “the conduct alleged in this complaint is deeply concerning.”

“We cannot allow adversarial foreign powers to interfere with our national governance.” Sun faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for one count of operating as an unauthorized agent of a foreign government.

He also faces one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, which carries a potential punishment of five years.