NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A former senior aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul was charged Tuesday with acting as a foreign agent for China after she and her husband were arrested by the FBI at their Long Island home.
Linda Sun, 41, a former deputy chief of staff to Hochul, was charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy, according to Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
She is alleged to have acted on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Her husband, Chris Hu, 40, was also charged with money laundering conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.
Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance on Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn and will be released on a $1.5 million bond. Sun has been barred from having any contact with the People's Republic of China's consulate and mission.
Her defense lawyer, Jarrod Schaeffer, said, “We’re looking forward to addressing these charges in court. Our client is understandably upset that these charges have been brought.”
Responding to the arrests, Avi Small, a spokesperson for the governor, said Sun was employed by the Executive Chamber for more than a decade. “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 told 1010 WINS.
The arrest follows an investigation during which the FBI searched the couple’s Manhasset home in July. Both were scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
“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,” Peace said. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”
According to court documents, while working for the New York State government, Sun allegedly concealed her actions taken at the order, request, or direction of PRC and CCP representatives. These actions included engaging in numerous political activities in the interests of the PRC and the CCP, such as blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from accessing high-level New York State officials; altering the messaging of high-level New York State officials on issues important to the PRC and the CCP; obtaining official New York State proclamations for PRC representatives without proper authorization; attempting to facilitate a trip to the PRC by a high-level New York State politician; and arranging meetings for visiting PRC delegations with New York State government officials.
Sun also allegedly provided unauthorized invitation letters from high-level New York State officials, which were used to help PRC government officials travel to the U.S. for meetings with New York State officials.
In return for her actions, Sun allegedly received significant economic and other benefits from PRC government and CCP representatives, including millions of dollars for her husband’s business in the PRC. She also received event tickets, help promoting a close family friend’s business, a job for her cousin in the PRC, and Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a PRC official’s personal chef and delivered to her parents’ home, according to prosecutors.
Sun and Hu allegedly laundered the money from this scheme to buy, among other things, a $4.1 million property in Manhasset. The couple purchased the home in 2021. Earlier this year, they placed the home in a trust, records show. They also purchased a $2.1 million condo in Honolulu, Hawaii, and luxury cars, including a 2024 Ferrari.
“Sun never disclosed any benefits she received from representatives of the PRC government and the CCP to the New York State government, as she was required to do as a New York State government employee,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Sun worked in state government for almost 15 years, first as the chief of staff for a state lawmaker, then held posts in the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and eventually served as the deputy chief of staff for Hochul, according to her LinkedIn profile.
In November of 2022 she moved to a job at the New York Department of Labor, where she served as deputy commissioner for strategic business development, but she departed that job just months later in March of 2023, the profile said.
After leaving state government, Sun went to work as campaign manager for Democrat Austin Cheng in an unsuccessful run for Congress on Long Island.
A lawyer for Sun, Seth DuCharme, did not immediately return an email seeking comment from the Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.