Is there an English counterpart for 陷某某于不义之地?
[陷]某某[于]某[地] = [put]某某[in]某[position]

Example: "陷袁世凯于不义之地" = "put Yuan Shi kai in the position of being unjust"

Similar structure: [置]某某[于]某[地] = [put]某某[in]某[position]

Example: "置袁世凯于死地" = "put Yuan Shi kai in the position of certain death"

The difference between 陷 and 置 is 陷 has the added meaning of 'to entrap' 


  George Chen wrote: Accurate but definitely not idiomatic or expressive.


Some common expressions that might fit:


'Set (someone) up to fail'
'Set (someone) up for the blame'
'paint (someone) into a corner'


Origin of 'paint (someone) into a corner' is: "A painter was paining a flood, he started from the exit, and at the end he found himself trapped into a corner. Any step he took would ruin his works. That's how the idiom came about. So, to put Yuan Shi kai in a position that no matter what step he took, would be seem as unjust (therefore, became a public enemy). Yuan was in effect, be painted into a corner,