Federal officials arrested Linda Sun — a former aide to Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — and her husband for allegedly acting on behalf of the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the United States Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
The United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York charged Sun and her husband Chris Hu with “violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy,” according to the unsealed indictment.
Sun allegedly acted on direct request from the CCP to block representatives of Taiwan’s government from having access to high-level New York state officers and allegedly changed the messaging of New York state officers regarding issues of importance to the PRC and the CCP, according to the announcement.
She also allegedly facilitated the unlawful entry of foreign citizens into the U.S. by providing false statements on immigration documents, according to the announcement.
“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 the announcement.
The arrest follows an FBI raid of the couple’s $3.5 million Long Island home in July, according to the New York Daily News (NYDN).
Sun allegedly acted as an undisclosed agent of the CCP while her husband allegedly “facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain,” according to the announcement.
The attorneys also charged Hu with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.
🚨BREAKING: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s former Deputy Chief of Staff was just charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.
The indictment states that she worked to advance CCP interests in state government, which included blocking reps from the Taiwanese… pic.twitter.com/X2eJy3Vds1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 3, 2024
“Sun wielded her position of influence among executives to covertly promote PRC and CCP agendas, directly threatening our country’s national security,” the announcement reads.
Sun and her husband allegedly used the proceeds from their money laundering scheme to purchase luxury vehicles and million dollar properties, Thomas M. Fattorusso, Special Agent in Charge of IRS CI New York, said in the announcement.
The amenities allegedly included the New York mansion she lived in with Hu — valued at $4.1 million according to the indictment — a $2.1 million condo in Honolulu, Hawaii, and a 2024 Ferrari, according to the indictment.
The Chinese government also allegedly rewarded her with travel benefits, tickets to events, a job in China for a family member and “Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a PRC government official’s personal chef that were delivered residence of Sun’s parents,” the indictment reads.
The pair will be arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court later Tuesday, according to the announcement.
Former Gov. Hochul aide Linda Sun, her husband arrested by federal authorities a month and a half after feds raided their $3.5 million homehttps://t.co/0CKetWtPJX
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 3, 2024
Sun served as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff from September 2021 until November 2022. She left to work as a deputy commissioner in the New York Department of Labor but was fired in March 2023. The department fired her after discovering “evidence of misconduct,” a Department of Labor spokesman told the Daily News. (RELATED: REPORT: FBI Raids Democratic Oakland Mayor’s Home)
Sun then went on to manage the unsuccessful congressional campaign for Democrat Austin Cheng, who was running to replace the ousted former Republican Rep. George Santos.
She had also previously worked as an aide to former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She served as his administration’s liaison to the state’s local Asian American communities, according to the Daily News.
