Newsman: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff Linda Sun has been arrested Tuesday on federal charges of acting as a secret agent of the Chinese government, authorities said. The federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Linda Sun, 41, has been charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government,.
Prosecutors said Linda Sun, 41, was arrested on Tuesday and is expected to be presented in court later in the day. Sun’s husband Chris Hu also faces criminal charges.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement Sun had used her state government service “to further the interests of the Chinese government” and the Chinese Communist Party. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”
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.
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 former 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 discovering evidence of misconduct.” Small said Hochul’s staff immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted the authorities working the case.
According to the 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.”
In 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 in Long Island, as well as a $2 million condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii, and luxury cars together worth about $6 million including a 2024 Ferrari, prosecutors said.
While working in state government, Sun allegedly blocked representatives of the Taiwanese government from meeting with officials, and allegedly sought to arrange for a high-level New York state official to visit China.
In exchange, prosecutors said Chinese government representatives facilitated millions of dollars in transactions for Hu, who had business activities in China.
“Sun wielded her position of influence among executives to covertly promote PRC and CCP agendas, directly threatening our country’s national security,” FBI Assistant Director Christine Curtis, the acting head of the bureau’s New York office, said in a statement.
Other gifts included Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef and delivered to the home of Sun’s parents, prosecutors said.
According to her government bio, Sun was appointed deputy chief of staff to Hochul, a Democrat, in September 2021. At the time, she was the highest-appointed Asian American in the administration.
After leaving Hochul’s office, she served briefly as a deputy secretary in the state Labor Department.
