On Tuesday, a former staffer to two governorships in New York was indicted for operating as an unauthorized representative of the Chinese government. The charges allege that she leveraged her official positions to subtly further Beijing’s initiatives, and received millions of dollars in financial benefits in return. The accused, Linda Sun, held multiple positions in the New York State government, for instance, she was the deputy chief of staff for Gov. Kathy Hochul and the deputy diversity officer for previous Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Linda Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested on Tuesday morning at their luxury residence on Long Island that is valued at $4 million. Prosecutors argue that at the behest of Chinese officials, Sun obstructed Taiwanese governmental representatives from accessing the governor’s office. Furthermore, she manipulated New York government communication to harmonize with the objectives of the Chinese government.
In return for her services, Sun’s husband allegedly received business assistance in China. This significantly enhanced his financial standing, and presumably allowed the couple to procure their extravagant real estate properties. In addition to their multi-million dollar Long Island home, they also bought a condominium in Hawaii worth $1.9 million, and premium vehicles like a 2024 Ferrari, as the indictment highlights.
The indictment also pointed out that Sun was given smaller gifts that included tickets to shows by a touring Chinese orchestra, ballet troupes, and ‘Nanjing-style salted ducks’. These food items were prepared by the personal chef of a Chinese government official and sent to Sun’s parental residence in New York. If these allegations hold water, it would mean that Chinese authorities could infiltrate the upper echelons of the New York state government for almost a decade.
According to United States Attorney Breon Peace, ‘The insidious scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the extent of millions of dollars.’ He added that while Sun seemed to be serving New York’s public as the Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, she and her husband were actually promoting the interests of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Efforts to get a comment from Seth DuCharme, Sun’s lawyer went unanswered. It’s expected that Sun and Hu will have their initial court appearance on Tuesday afternoon, as clarified by a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn. The case is a part of a larger undertaking by the Justice Department to expose undercover agents of the Chinese government operating in the United States.
Over the past several years, federal authorities have brought charges against Chinese nationals suspected of covertly furthering Beijing’s interests. These individuals have also been associated with the harassment and intimidation of dissidents on behalf of the government. In a noteworthy case from the previous year, the Justice Department accused two men of setting up an undercover police station in New York City under the orders of the Chinese government.
Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, served in the state government for approximately 15 years, working in Cuomo’s administration and ultimately becoming Hochul’s deputy chief of staff, as per her LinkedIn profile. In November 2022, she started a position at the New York Department of Labor as deputy commissioner for strategic business development but resigned from the job only months later in March 2023.
The administration of Governor Hochul terminated Sun’s employment in March 2023 after coming across indications of improper conduct. The spokesperson for Hochul’s office noted that they ‘informed law enforcement of her actions immediately after discovering evidence of misconduct and have provided law enforcement with our full cooperation throughout this process’. Sun was employed by the Executive Chamber over a decade ago.
The indictment points out that one of Sun’s objectives was to prevent representatives of the Taiwanese government from getting meetings with top-ranked New York state officials. It’s important to note that the Chinese government considers Taiwan as a part of its territory. A series of exchanges that Sun had with Chinese Consulate officials in January 2021 during Cuomo’s tenure as governor and Hochul’s time as lieutenant governor are mentioned in the indictment.
The document does not name either leader directly, but refers to them as ‘Politician-1’ and ‘Politician-2’. Following a request for a Lunar New Year video greeting from the governor by Chinese officials, Sun suggested Hochul could take care of it and asked for ‘suggested speech content that you would like her to mention’. An official advised her to keep it largely to ‘holiday wishes and hope for friendship and cooperation / Nothing too political’.
Sun later informed another official that she had a disagreement in drafting the speech with Hochul’s speech writer because they insisted on referencing the ‘Uyghur situation’ in China. Consequentially, she reassured the official that she would prevent the mention of the Muslim ethnic minority in China and it is reported that the final speech did not mention that issue at all.
Late in July, the FBI conducted a search on the couple’s luxe home in Manhasset, but opted not to disclose details about the search at the time. Sun is currently facing charges, including contravention of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, money laundering, and aiding people to commit visa fraud and illegally enter the U.S. Meanwhile, Hu faces charges on money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and misuse of identifying information.
Immediate attempts to solicit a comment from a spokesperson for Cuomo did not yield any response. Sun and Hu currently reside in a gated community on Long Island named Stone Hill. They purchased the house in 2021, but transferred its ownership to a trust earlier this year, as per the property records.