Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, allegedly worked to promote China’s interests while employed in the New York State government, according to federal prosecutors who unsealed an indictment on Tuesday.
In an incident on Tuesday, the authorities detained Linda Sun, 40, and her husband, Chris Hu, 41. Sun faces charges related to money laundering conspiracy, immigrant smuggling, visa fraud, and breaching and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. She is said to have acted on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government. Last year, Huchul fired Sun after her office found evidence of her misbehavior.
“The indictment charges Sun with failure to register as a foreign agent, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. Her husband, Christopher Hu, allegedly facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain, prosecutors said,” ABC News reported.
“Sun and Hu each pleaded not guilty during their arraignment in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday afternoon. Sun appeared in a black pantsuit with a red blouse, while her husband appeared in slacks and a pale dress shirt. While working for the Cuomo and Hochul administrations, Sun allegedly acted as an unregistered agent of China while her husband allegedly laundered the proceeds, enabling them to buy a $3.6 million house in Manhasset and a $1.9 million condo in Hawaii,” the outlet added.
Prosecutors claimed that Sun attempted to “shape the public statements” the governor made about China, prevented meetings with Taiwanese officials, and barred Taiwan representatives from seeing the governor.
“This is no ordinary financial fraud,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Solomon said during the arraignment.
The government said Sun and Hu had more than 80 different accounts. A WeChat message from Sun to a Chinese official is said to have said, “I have done many things to make the relationship… flourish.” This is most of the proof.
Sun was given a $1.5 million bond and her husband was given a $500,000 bond. Sun has been freed on bail and is not allowed to talk to the Chinese consulate in any way. The next time they have to go to court is on September 25.
Lawyers for Sun said in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday night that the charges were “inflammatory.”
“We are disappointed by the filing of these charges, which are inflammatory and appear to be the product of an overly aggressive prosecution,” the statement from her attorneys, Jarrod Schaeffer and Ken Abell, read. “We are also troubled by aspects of the government’s investigation. As we said today in court, our client is eager to exercise her right to a speedy trial and to defend against these accusations in the proper forum—a court of law.”
Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York and the FBI say Sun and her husband were taken at their home on Long Island on Tuesday morning. In July, the FBI searched the house in Manhattan.
As Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small said, Sun worked for the Executive Chamber for more than ten years before being fired last year.
“We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process,” Small said in a statement to ABC News.
While Cuomo was in office, his rep told ABC News that Sun had “little to no interaction with the governor.”
“National security is critical and must be free from foreign influence,” read a statement from Rich Azzopardi, who reps Cuomo. “While Ms Sun was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff in the subsequent administration, during our time she worked in a handful of agencies and was one of many community liaisons who had little to no interaction with the governor.”
Sun worked in state government for about 15 years before being fired last year from her position as deputy commissioner for strategic business development at the New York State Department of Labor.
Before this role, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Hochul and worked in the administration of former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
ABC News added:
The indictment alleges that, acting at the request of Chinese government officials and representatives of the Chinese Communist Party, Sun blocked Taiwanese government officials from having access to high-level New York State officers, changed New York State officers’ messaging about China and arranged meetings for visiting delegations from the PRC government with New York State government officials.
In return for these and other actions, Sun allegedly received economic and other benefits from China, including the facilitation of millions of dollars in transactions for the China-based business activities of Hu; travel benefits; tickets to events; promotion of a close family friend’s business; employment for Sun’s cousin in the PRC; and Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a PRC government official’s personal chef that were delivered to the residence of Sun’s parents, according to the indictment.
“As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”
A “furious” Gov Hochul called the allegations against Sun “brazen,” “shocking” and “a betrayal of trust” during an appearance on WNYC.
