On or about February 14, 2023, Linda Sun submitted a voluntary interview with the NYS Office of Inspector General. During the interview, Sun claimed to attend the Asian community event in a personal capacity and not in a new capacity at the Department of Labor.
Courtesy: United States District Court EDNY
A former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul was arrested Tuesday on federal criminal charges accusing him of acting as an undisclosed agent of China and the Chinese Communist Party, and laundering millions of dollars for China.
Linda Sun, who served as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff for a year in addition to holding other government posts, was charged with felony and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, foreign smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy.
Sun’s husband, businessman Chris Hu, 40, was also arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of identification means.
The couple, who were arrested by FBI agents at their Long Island home, are scheduled to appear Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York.
Prosecutors said the couple laundered proceeds from an alleged scheme to buy a $4.1 million home in Manhasset, Long Island, a $2.1 million condo in Honolulu, and luxury cars that included a 2024 Ferrari.
An indictment alleges that Sun, 41, while working in the governor’s office in Hochul and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and in several state agencies, also acted as an undisclosed agent for the People’s Republic of China, where he was born. .
This is an aerial view of Saxony Court, the Manhasset, New York home owned by Chris Hu and Linda Sun, July 24, 2024. Sun is the former deputy chief of staff for New York State governor Kathy Hochul. The FBI searched the house on July 23, 2024.
J. Conrad Williams Jr. | Newsday | Getty Images
The indictment said that “acting at the request of PRC government officials and representatives (of the Chinese Communist Party), Sun engaged in numerous political activities for the benefit of the PRC and the CCP. These included “restricting Taiwan government representatives from having access to” the New York governor’s office, replacing message Hochul and other politicians on issues important to China and the CCP, obtained official proclamations from the governor for representatives of the PRC and tried to facilitate Hochul’s trip to China, according to the indictment.
He also allegedly arranged “for a meeting to visit a delegation from the PRC government with New York State government officials.
Prosecutors said that in return for these and other actions, Sun “received economic and other benefits” from the Chinese government and the Communist Party.
That includes “facilitating millions of dollars in transactions for Hu’s PRC-based business activities,” the press release said.
Sun also received tickets for the event, “promoting the business of a close family friend;
work for Sun’s cousin in the PRC; and Nanjing-style salted duck prepared by a PRC government official’s personal chef delivered to Sun’s parents’ home,” the release said.
Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small, in a statement to WNBC News 4 in New York City, said, “This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber more than ten years ago.”
“We terminated his employment in March 2023 after finding evidence of wrongdoing, immediately reported his actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process,” Small said.
Sun was working at the state Department of Labor when he was fired.
According to the indictment, Sun held several positions in New York State government from 2012 to 2023, including deputy chief of staff to Hochul for a year, starting in September 2021.
