Former top aide to Kathy Hochul charged with acting as Chinese agent

Federal agents have arrested a former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and prosecutors charged her with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government.

Linda Sun, 40, who served as the deputy chief of staff in Hochul’s office for roughly 15 months between 2021 and 2022, was arrested on Tuesday morning alongside her husband, Chris Hu, 41, at their Long Island home.

Federal prosecutors have charged Sun with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Agent, visa fraud, alien smuggling and a money laundering conspiracy. Hu was charged with money laundering conspiracy as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Sun is accused of acting at the request of People’s Republic of China officials and Chinese Communist Party representatives by blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from accessing high-level New York state officers, obtaining official state proclamations for PRC government representatives without authorization, attempting to facilitate a trip to the PRC by a high-level state politician and more.

In return, Sun allegedly received “substantial” monetary benefits that she and Hu allegedly laundered to purchase real estate in Manhasset, a condominium in Hawaii and multiple luxury vehicles.

“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,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said in a press release.

“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.”

The arrests come less than two months after FBI agents raided Sun and Hu’s $3.5 million home in Manhasset.

A spokesperson for the FBI in New York confirmed that Sun and Hu were arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant from the Eastern District of New York. The two are expected to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.

Sun is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and began working in the New York Executive Chamber more than a decade ago under former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

She was hired to serve as the Director of Asian American Affairs for the Executive Chamber after serving as Chief of Staff for former assemblywoman Grace Meng. From there she worked her way up to Chief Diversity Officer for the Executive Chamber then Deputy Superintendent for Intergovernmental Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer in the state’s department of financial services.

She became the highest-appointed Asian American in Hochul’s administration when she became deputy chief of staff.

A spokesperson for Hochul’s office said in a statement that Sun was terminated in March 2023 “after discovering evidence of misconduct.”

“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,” the spokesperson added.

After leaving Hochul’s office, Sun served briefly as the deputy secretary of the state Labor Department.

According to her biography, she holds a Master’s degree from Teachers College at Columbia University and a B.A. from Barnard College.