The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against Steve Wynn, the former CEO of Wynn Resorts, in order to compel Wynn to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA).

FARA mandates the following:

FARA requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.

The DOJ complaint argues Wynn is required to register under FARA because he acted as an agent for foreign interests and “engaged in political activities on their behalf in the United States.” The complaint alleged Wynn worked as an agent on behalf of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Sun Lijun, a former PRC official. Specifically Wynn, at the request of Lijun, “conveyed to former President Donald J. Trump and his Administration (‘the Trump Administration’) the PRC’s request to remove from the country a PRC national who had sought political asylum in the United States.”

Additionally the complaint states the DOJ informed Wynn of his obligation to register in multiple letters sent in May 2018, October 2021, and April 2022. However, Wynn still failed to register under FARA.

The DOJ requests declaratory judgement and a preliminary injunction, which it deemed necessary, due to Wynn’s “failure to file [which] constitutes an ongoing violation of FARA and gives the likelihood that this violation will continue in the absence of court action.”