Former aide to New York Governors arrested - Chinese agent

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A former top aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was arrested Tuesday on federal charges of acting as a secret agent of the Chinese government, authorities said.

Linda Sun, 41, is accused of using her high-ranking positions in state government to serve the interests of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party in exchange for millions of dollars. Her husband, Chris Hu, 40, was also arrested in the alleged scheme.

Sun was charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering. Hu was charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.

Both pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon. Sun was set to be released on a $1.5 million bond, her husband on a $500,000 bond.

“We are disappointed by the filing of these charges, which are inflammatory and appear to be the product of an overly aggressive prosecution," Sun's lawyers, Jarrod Schaeffer and Kenneth Abell, said in a statement after the hearing. "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.”

The arrests come six weeks after FBI agents searched the couple's $3.5 million home in a gated community in Manhasset on Long Island.

Sun worked in state government for roughly 15 years, holding positions in the administration of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo before becoming Hochul’s deputy chief of staff, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Avi Small, a spokesman for Hochul, said Sun was hired more than a decade ago and fired in March 2023 after "evidence of misconduct" was discovered. Small said Hochul's staff immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted the authorities working the case.

According to the 64-page indictment, Sun blocked Taiwanese government representatives from getting access to high-ranking New York state officials and altered the messaging of state officials on issues of importance to the Chinese government — all at the request of Chinese officials. Sun also helped Chinese government officials travel to the U.S. and meet with New York officials by providing unauthorized invitation letters from high-level state officers, according to the indictment.

"Sun’s unauthorized invitation letters for the PRC government delegation constituted false statements made in connection with immigration documents and induced the foreign citizens into unlawfully entering the United States," Brooklyn federal prosecutors said in a press release.

"Sun never registered as a foreign agent with the Attorney General, and in fact actively concealed that she took actions at the order, request, or direction of PRC government and the CCP representatives."

n return, Sun received millions of dollars in transactions for the China-based business activities of her husband, tickets to events, employment for her cousin in China and Nanjing-style salted ducks that were prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef and delivered to the residence of Sun’s parents, according to prosecutors.

The couple used the money to buy their home on Long Island, as well as a $2 million condominium in Honolulu and luxury cars, including a 2024 Ferrari, prosecutors said.

Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said U.S. authorities have brought similar cases in the past only to see them fall apart.

China’s consul general in New York has been expelled after a former aide for New York governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo was charged with acting as an agent for the Chinese government, Hochul said Wednesday.

Before taking questions at an event, Hochul said she was on the phone with a high-ranking State Department official at the request of Antony Blinken.

“I have conveyed my desire to have the counsel general from the People’s Republic of China and the New York mission expelled, and I’ve been informed that the counsel general is no longer in the New York mission,” Hochul said during an off-topic portion of an unrelated press conference.

Hochul said Wednesday she’s been helping the Department of Justice for months and will continue to work with them.

She called Sun’s actions an “absolute betrayal of the trust of two administrations in state government,” and went as far as “even forging my signature on documents.”

Hochul said the FBI “asked her one question” – to verify whether something was her signature.

Hochul said Sun was a “mid-level aide” and said she didn’t have contact with her “very often” and had “no real role in my policies” as governor.

The governor cautioned she wasn’t able to provide detailed information about the investigation into Sun: “There’s an ongoing investigation, there’ll be court proceedings, maybe a trial – all this will be revealed but it’s not information I can divulge at this time,” she said.