Online images of James Yantao Su show him posing with artists and bankers at film premiers from Los Angeles to London, and attending community events in the San Gabriel Valley sponsored by the West Covina company he founded in 1993, EDI Media Inc.
The images offer a glimpse at a 56-year-old businessman whose firm touts itself as one of the largest Chinese-media platforms in the U.S., with content online, TV, radio and print, with a reach into 30 countries.
FBI agents this week served search warrants at Su’s business and his home, also in West Covina.
Agents also served warrants at the homes of San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman, Ontario Councilmember Alan Wapner, and attorney Frank Lizarraga. No one, including Su, was arrested.
While FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller said the warrants have been sealed by the court, the investigation appears to hone in on political, business and civic ties between Su and some of San Bernardino County’s most influential elected leaders.
Su’s profile appears highest in the San Gabriel Valley, where he moved in 1989 and where EDI Media Inc. has sponsored events such as festivals and concerts for years.
The Shanghai-born Su associated with many leaders from cities with sizable Asian American communities.
One of EDI Media’s biggest events was the annual Chinese American Film Festival based in Los Angeles, with an expressed mission to promote exchange between U.S. and Chinese film industries.
The festival is sponsored by the Information Office of the State Council of China, the China Film Administration, the State Administration of Radio and Television of China, the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles, and Los Angeles County, according to its website.
The 21st festival was held in 2025 and featured Hollywood senior film executives, Chinese American elected officials, and Chinese government officials.
In a business article written by Loyola Marymount University students and published on the platform AIM2Flourish, Su said he believes it is important for everyone of Chinese descent to remember and preserve their heritage, access information in English and Chinese and eliminate discrimination through communications.
A 2015 Reuters investigation into Su’s radio network alleged hidden financial backing by a subsidiary of the Chinese government. It pegged Su’s ownership of real estate and radio stations at more than $15 million, according to its analysis of U.S. corporate, property, tax and FCC records. The FCC and Justice Department’s subsequent investigation did not result in criminal prosecution.
In his hometown of West Covina, Su and EDI Media Inc. pushed a philanthropic mission.
He stepped up to donate PPEs and food to West Covina during the pandemic, according to Councilmember Tony Wu, who was then mayor.
Wu said he gave many interviews to EDI Media Inc., which consists of a TV channel, the G&E Radio Network, a monthly magazine, news website and a YouTube channel.
In 2017, Su and his wife Slina Lam were on hand at a West Covina City Council meeting to donate $5,000 each to the West Covina Unified School District and Covina Valley Unified School District.
On Thursday, the company’s YouTube channel streamed a 2018 video on EDI Media Inc. that included photos of Su with then-Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and numerous certificates of recognition from local state and congressional politicians given to Su and the Chinese American Film Festival.
That scroll included recognitions from Hagman among an array of other local elected officials.
Su also served as the first president of the Chinese American Association of West Covina, where both Wu and his wife remain active. Wu said the media executive became less involved after his first and only term in 2020.
“My understanding is they are very good people.” Wu said Wednesday. “They care about the country and they care about their community. I will stand by what I say.”
Su’s attorney on Wednesday defended his client, adding that the FBI has given neither he nor his client any information as to why the department decided to search his home and business.
“He was at his residence when the FBI showed up with a large squad of heavily armed agents,” said Andrew Cowan, Su’s attorney. “And they ordered him, his wife, his daughters, and his two 7-year-old twin sons and two grandmothers who lived there and who are in their 80s, outside in the sun while they conducted the search.”
Cowan reiterated that his client is an American citizen, and acknowledged that he has made contributions to Hagman in the past. Public records show Su donated $3,500 to Hagman’s supervisorial campaign between September 2021 and March 2026, and that EDI Media Inc. donated $4,000 to Hagman’s campaign committees from October 2017 to February 2022.
“They were all publicly disclosed and completely lawful,” Cowan said, adding that they were within legal contribution limits.
In March of 2022, members of the Southern California Chinese community held a fundraiser for Hagman’s Board of Supervisor reelection campaign, where Su spoke in support of Hagman.