Linda Sun, who worked for Hochul and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was accused of being an undeclared agent for the Chinese regime while working for the politicians.
Reporters and photographers wait outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Oct. 27, 2020. Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times
By Lily Zhou
Linda Sun, former deputy chief of staff to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, was charged on Tuesday with acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), federal prosecutors said.
Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, were arrested on Tuesday morning at their home on Long Island.
In July, the FBI searched the address but didn’t release details.
Sun was also charged with visa fraud, alien smuggling, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, while Hu was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, bank fraud, and misuse of means of identification.
The couple is scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo later on Tuesday, the Eastern District of New York said in a statement.
“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 for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said.
“The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars. Our Office will act decisively to prosecute those who serve as undisclosed agents of a foreign government.”
Sun, also known as Wen Sun, Ling Da Sun, and Linda Hu, held various roles in the New York State (NYS) government from in or about 2012 until 2023, during the tenures of Andrew Cuomo and Hochul, including Cuomo’s deputy chief diversity officer from February 2018 to July 2020 and Hochul’s deputy chief of staff from in or about September 2021 until September 2022.
The indictment did not mention Cuomo and Hochul by name, instead referred to them as Politician-1 and Politician-2.
Sun was also deputy commissioner for strategic business development for the NYS Department of Labor from in or about September 2022 until March 2023, when she was fired, the document said.
Hochul’s office didn’t respond to The Epoch Times request for comment. In a statement provided to media outlets, a spokesperson for her office said: “This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago. We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process.”
According to the indictment, Sun allegedly engaged in “numerous political activities in the interests of the PRC and the CCP’ on their behalf” while working at the NYS government.
The activities include blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the New York governor’s office; changing the politicians’ messaging regarding issues of importance to China and the CCP; obtaining the governors’ official proclamations for Beijing’s representatives without proper authorization; attempting to facilitate a trip to China by Politician-2; and arranging meetings for visiting delegations from the Chinese regime with New York state government officials, the document said.
She was also accused of providing unauthorized invitation letters from the office of the New York governor, which constituted false statements made in connection with immigration documents, to allow Chinese officials to enter the United States illegally and meet with U.S. government officials.
The defendant received “substantial economic and other benefits” from Beijing’s representatives, including the “facilitation of millions of dollars in transactions for the PRC-based business activities” of her husband, the prosecutors alleged.
In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, Cuomo’s spokesperson said: “National security is critical and must be free from foreign influence. While Ms Sun was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff in the subsequent administration, during our time she worked in a handful of agencies and was one of many community liaisons who had little to no interaction with the governor.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to Sun’s attorney for comment.