Federal authorities unsealed an indictment charging Linda Sun , Gov. Kathy Hochul 's (D-NY) former chief of staff, with acting as a foreign agent for China while she worked for Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), among other charges Tuesday.
Her husband, Chris Hu, was also charged with money laundering conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.
“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 [Chinese Communist Party],” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace wrote in the indictment .
“The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars. Our Office will act decisively to prosecute those who serve as undisclosed agents of a foreign government,” he added.
Sun allegedly acted as an agent for China while working for Hochul's office and allegedly enacted several actions favorable to the country, such as blocking Taiwanese government officials from having access to New York officials, changing state messaging of matters important to China, obtaining state proclamations regarding China without authorization, arranging a trip to China "by a high-level New York State politician," and also arranging meetings between China and state officials.
The former Hochul aide allegedly provided unauthorized invitation letters from state officials to help Chinese officials into the United States to have meetings with New York officials. These letters "constituted false statements made in connection with immigration documents and induced the foreign citizens into unlawfully entering the United States."
She allegedly received millions of dollars from her actions, and with the help of her husband, who laundered the money, allegedly purchased multi-million dollar homes in New York and Hawaii along with luxury automobiles, including a 2024 Ferrari.
Other gifts included "tickets to shows, concerts, and events, as well as salted ducks" prepared by a Chinese official's chef.
The indictment does not name Cuomo or Hochul specifically but lists them as "Politician 1" and "Politician 2," with Sun's working history timelines matching up with each politician.
She blocked "Politician 2," likely Hochul, from attending a 2016 event in Washington, D.C., put on by the Taipei economic office. In further correspondence with Chinese officials, she said, "Just FYI for you, the Taipei economic office is trying to secure [Politician-2] for an event in DC during Select USA. They sent the invitation to another colleague trying to bypass me. I am working on it right now to resolve the issue.”
The official responded, "Thank you [f]or letting me know,” before Sun said it was taken care of "satisfactorily." Instead of attending an event hosted by Taiwan, "Politician 2" attended a China-hosted event, the 2016 SelectUSA Reception that Hochul attended as lieutenant governor.
In one 2019 exchange, Sun allegedly wrote to a Chinese Consulate official that she blocked communications from a Taiwanese economic and cultural office in New York. “I very much value my relationship with the consulate and have done many things to make the relationship between the state and the consulate flourish during my tenure with [Politician-1]. Certainly I have managed to stop all relationships between the TECO and the state," she said.
"I have denied all requests from their office.”
The official responded, “I know and do appreciate your help.” They also said, “[W]ith us now in the political section, you are the most important hub connecting us with [Politician-1] and his team.”
In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged New York City, Sun added a Chinese official to a private government conference call "concerning the health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the administration’s response to rising hate crimes against Asian Americans."
Speakers on the call included the New York state commissioner for the Division of Human Rights and the director of education and outreach for the Center for Environmental Health at the New York State Department of Health. The Chinese official was not authorized to attend the meeting, and Sun criticized the official for not keeping their phone muted during the call.
After the call, the Chinese official noted the call "was very useful." In April 2020, several Chinese foundations donated 1,000 ventilators to the Greater New York Hospital Association, and Sun informed a Chinese official that "Politician 1" would thank them .
Most recently, Sun blocked "Politician 2" from attending a meeting with a Taiwanese official in May 2022. A member of the New York State Assembly had invited "Politician 2" to attend a meeting with a Taiwanese official, but Sun wrote, "No meeting please. Kindly decline. Do not want her to wade into this China/Taiwan sensitivity," when asked if the politician should attend such a meeting.
Sun never registered as a foreign agent and allegedly concealed her actions. Sun is officially charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy.
"Sun wielded her position of influence among executives to covertly promote PRC and CCP agendas, directly threatening our country’s national security," wrote FBI Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis in the indictment. "The FBI is committed to protect the American people from any threat actors who seek to influence officials at the direction of foreign entities."
Sun and Hu are expected to be arraigned later Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. Their indictment comes a month after the FBI raided their Long Island home and “conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity."
Sun worked for Hochul from September 2021 to November 2022 before leaving to work in the New York Department of Labor. She was then fired from the department after evidence of misconduct was discovered. After that, she worked on the campaign for Democrat Austin Cheng, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in New York's 3rd Congressional District. At one point in her career, she also worked for Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) when the latter was a state assemblywoman.
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“This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago," a Hochul spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. "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.”
Sun's husband is the owner of a liquor store in Queens and several other businesses.
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