LOS ANGELES — A series of FBI raids this week involving San Bernardino County elected officials and a Chinese-language media company are part of a growing probe into public corruption and foreign influence in Southern California, law enforcement sources say.

FBI agents executed warrants across Southern California, searching the homes and offices of a San Bernardino County supervisor, an Ontario City Council member and the offices of EDI Media, a well-known Chinese-U.S. media producer based in West Covina.

The feds also raided a Beverly Hills mansion owned by a Chinese family and obtained records at Ontario International Airport.

FBI officials confirmed the search warrant addresses but did not name the individuals subject to the searches, saying the affidavits for the warrants are under seal. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment on the reasons for the investigations, citing the sealed warrants. No one was arrested.

But the raids come amid deepening federal investigations into allegations of connections between local government officials and agents of the Chinese government. None of those targeted by the FBI activities returned calls seeking comment.

In May, the former mayor of Arcadia pleaded guilty to accusations that she was directed by the Chinese government to promote propaganda in the United States. Authorities alleged she helped run a website called U.S. News Center that branded itself as a news source for Chinese Americans and “executed directives” from the Chinese government.

A month earlier, FBI agents searched Lancaster City Hall as well as the homes of two council members.

Authorities did not reveal details of that investigation. But a source who has reviewed a warrant told The Times that it sought communications between city officials and the Chinese auto manufacturer BYD. The company runs a major bus manufacturing facility in the city. BYD did not return calls seeking comment. Details of the warrant were first reported by the California Post.

That investigation is still ongoing and no one has been arrested.

This week, FBI agents searched properties connected to San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman, Ontario Councilmember Alan Wapner, attorney Frank Lizarraga and the home of James Su, chief executive of EDI Media, and his office in West Covina. It’s not clear whether they were the targets of the investigation.

Su’s media company, which includes several L.A.-based media groups, including the Chinese-language website iCity News, had to register as a foreign agent in May 2022 because it formerly printed the U.S. version of a newspaper considered a “foreign mission” of the Chinese government.

Su donated $500 to the campaign of the former Arcadia mayor, Eileen Wang, on Oct. 10, 2022.

Andrew Cowan, an attorney for Su on Wednesday said his client is an American citizen who made campaign donations across the political spectrum and does not have any idea why he was served with search warrants by the FBI. Cowan said of those named Su is only familar with Sup. Curt Hagman.

Wang is now awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty. Prosecutors have painted her case as part of a wider scheme to influence local politics around the nation and the Chinese population here.

FBI agents could be seen searching the massive 21,000-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion at 613 N. Canon Drive on Tuesday. It was sold by a Kurdish general, Mansour Banzani, to a Chinese mainland family in 2023 for $24.6 million, according to public records. The sale was to two companies, one registered in Delaware.

The public corruption allegations in Arcadia rocked the world of local L.A. County politics, and some officials said they are bracing for what comes next.

As Tuesday’s raids unfolded, U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona) said in a statement she was “deeply troubled by the reports the FBI has executed warrants against elected officials in San Bernardino County. I am awaiting further information, but our community has zero tolerance for any corruption at any level of our government.”

Lizarraga is a well-known civil litigator and University of La Verne trustee who formerly worked for the Southern California Assn. of Governments, a planning organization that represents six counties. He is also a former Ontario city planning commissioner.

FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller confirmed a related search warrant was served at Ontario International Airport. Wapner and Hagman sit on the Ontario International Airport Authority, with the council member acting as its president, records show. The Times learned that a subpoena was also served on Ontario City Hall for records.

EDI describes itself as the largest Chinese American multimedia company in the U.S. and says it is designed to further U.S.-China relations. It operates a series of bilingual digital platforms, a radio network and TV channels, and produces a Chinese American film festival. Since the company started in 1993, it has expanded to making more than 2,000 hours of programming annually, reaching more than 35 million people worldwide.

Some intelligence experts have been raising alarms about the Chinese government trying to curry influence among local elected leaders across the nation. In one high-profile case, federal authorities charged a woman who had served as a senior deputy to two New York governors with being a Chinese agent working to push that government’s agenda. Her cases ended in a hung jury, and she is expected to be retried next year.

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Times staff writer Rebecca Ellis contributed to this report.

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