Linda Sun allegedly used her position to advance China’s interests in New York State.
Linda Sun allegedly used her position to advance China’s interests in New York State.
L inda Sun, a former aide to New York governor Kathy Hochul, acted at the direction of Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party officials while serving in state government, federal prosecutors alleged in an indictment Tuesday.
In a statement, the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York said that Sun was arrested Tuesday morning with her husband, Christopher Hu. They were expected to be arraigned later in the day.
Sun is a former deputy chief of staff to Kathy Hochul and has served in numerous roles throughout New York State government since her first post under the administration of former governor Andrew Cuomo in 2012. Before that, she served as Representative Grace Meng’s chief of staff, when the Queens Democrat served in the New York State assembly.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.
The federal government is alleging that Sun was an unregistered agent of the Chinese government and that her husband engaged in money-laundering while they benefited from millions of dollars in bribes from Chinese officials.
The indictment details a shocking pattern of collaboration with China’s consulate general in New York, with Sun at one point in 2020 letting a Chinese diplomat listen in on a private conference call for New York officials regarding the state government’s response to the Covid pandemic.
Chinese-government and CCP officials directed her to block Taiwanese officials from engaging with officials from New York. Beijing views the current government of Taiwan as a traitorous separatist movement and wants to annex the country.
According to court documents, Taiwan’s de facto consulate in New York City invited an unnamed politician, a description that matches the profile of then-governor Andrew Cuomo, to attend a banquet honoring then-Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen during her stopover in the city in 2019. Sun forwarded information about the invite to a Chinese official, telling that individual, “I sent you an email / Just an FYI / I already blocked it.” She then declined the invitation without consulting other New York executive chamber officials.
When Sun later asked a colleague to check if the politician was registered for the banquet, that staff member said that it was not on the schedule. Sun replied: “Perfect!”
She also manipulated messaging from the New York governor’s office, while consulting Chinese diplomats, the indictment stated.
While the initial draft of a script for a videotaped message that a second unnamed politician would deliver marking the 2021 Lunar New Year mentioned China’s abuses of Uyghurs, Sun later told a Chinese official that she had had an argument with the speechwriter. The final video, the description of which matches a message that Hochul’s team posted to her Facebook page, made no mention of the Uyghurs.
Federal prosecutors also alleged in court documents that Sun tried to facilitate a trip to China by an unnamed “high-level New York State politician” and set up meetings for Chinese-government delegations visiting the state.
She allegedly violated the New York government’s internal protocols by crafting invitations from high-level government offices that she extended to Chinese government officials. The federal government alleged that this was a false statement in connection to immigration documents, as it prompted foreign nationals to enter the United States illegally.
Hochul had attended events hosted by pro-Beijing organizations in America during Sun’s tenure in New York State government. One of these groups, the China General Chamber of Commerce New York — which represents Chinese state-owned firms — thanked Sun for her assistance in a press release that celebrated her promotion to deputy chief of staff.
Last year, Hochul marched in an annual parade attended by Chinese diplomats and local pro-Beijing community organizations. Speaking at its opening ceremony, she waved a Chinese flag.
Sun had also participated in functions with local community organizations that maintain ties to China’s consulate general in New York and taken part in events at the diplomatic outpost.
The court documents stated that she was fired by the New York State department of labor in 2023, where she then served as deputy commissioner. In February of that year, she had voluntarily taken part in an interview with the New York State office of the inspector general, lying about her unauthorized requests for proclamations she presented to Chinese officials at consular events.
After her termination in March of that year, she continued to attend community events while falsely claiming to represent the state department of labor and using her former title, until the department sent her a cease-and-desist letter in August.
In 2017, she traveled to China on a junket organized by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, a subsidiary of the United Front Work Department, the CCP’s political-influence bureau.
Sun and Hu received millions of dollars in funds, via Hu’s China-based businesses. Among the financial and economic benefits they received were “Nanjing-style salted ducks” prepared by a Chinese government official’s chef, which were delivered to Sun’s parents. The consulate delivered at least 16 salted ducks, the indictment indicates.
They purchased a $3.6 million house on Long Island, a $1.9 million condominium in Honolulu, and luxury cars, including a 2024 model Ferrari, the indictment said.