A former adviser to New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government, US Attorney Brian Peace announced Tuesday. According to an unsealed copy of the indictment, Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff Linda Sun is charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, conspiracy to commit visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering.
Her husband and co-defendant Chris Hu is also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, as well as improper use of a means of identification, prosecutors said. According to sources, federal investigators raided his home in July.
According to prosecutors, Sun “acted as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government while her husband, Hu, facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in bribes for personal gain.” On Tuesday morning, Sun and Hu were taken into custody at their Long Island residence. The couple is expected to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Reporter has reached out to Sun and Hu’s attorneys.
In a statement to Reporter, Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small stated, “Sun was appointed by the Executive Chamber more than ten years ago. After finding evidence of her wrongdoing, we fired her in March 2023, immediately reported her to the police, and helped them with their investigation.”
According to court documents, Sun violated internal rules and state government protocols to benefit the Chinese government.
Prosecutors said that among Sun’s activities, he was acting as an undisclosed agent of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), acting at their request and engaging in political activities to advance the CCP’s interests, including “preventing Taiwanese government representatives from accessing high-level New York State officials.”
The indictment details Sun’s attempt to obtain an “unauthorized invitation letter” from the governor’s office, which was used to facilitate travel by PRC government officials to the United States to meet state officials in New York.
Prosecutors wrote that Sun’s unauthorized letters included false statements on immigration documents and “induced foreign nationals to enter the United States illegally.”
They also alleged that she tried to “facilitate travel” to China for an unnamed high-level New York politician.
According to the indictment, Sun and her husband received “substantial financial and other benefits,” including millions of dollars in transactions for Hu’s business activities in China, travel benefits, event tickets, employment for Sun’s cousin in China, deliveries of “Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by the Chinese official’s personal chef” that were later delivered to Sun’s parents’ residence.
They also laundered the proceeds to purchase real estate in New York and Hawaii and several luxury vehicles, according to the indictment.
Sun has held a number of public positions over more than a decade. Public employment records and her LinkedIn profile show she has worked in several agencies focused on New York’s economic development, labor, and the Executive Chamber.
In 2009, Sun was appointed chief of staff in the office of Representative Grace Meng while Meng was in the state Assembly. In 2012, Sun was hired by the administration of former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who appointed her director of Asian American affairs and Queens representative. Sun was then appointed director of external affairs for Empire State Development, which handles economic development throughout the state.
In 2018, she was rehired by the Cuomo administration and appointed chief diversity officer; she later left that position to work in the Department of Financial Services.
After Hochul took over the state’s top job, Sun was appointed deputy chief of staff, a position he held for about a year before moving to deputy commissioner for strategic business at the Labor Department, which ended his tenure in March 2023.
