A former aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and current Gov. Kathy Hochul was arrested Tuesday morning on charges of violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. The former aide, Linda Sun, is accused of acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, to further their interests in the United States. Her husband, Chris Hu, was also arrested and charged with money laundering conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification.
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Sun was the Chief of Staff for Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) when Meng was a member of the New York State Assembly, then worked for Cuomo in multiple positions: Director of Asian American Affairs, Deputy Chief Diversity Officer, and Deputy Superintendent for Intergovermental Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer. After Hochul took office in August 2021 Sun became Deputy Chief of Staff, then left that job in November 2022 to become the Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Business Development at the New York State Department of Labor.
Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said:
“As alleged in the indictment, Linda Sun, a former New York State government employee, acted as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government while her husband, Christopher Hu, facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain. Sun wielded her position of influence among executives to covertly promote PRC and CCP agendas, directly threatening our country’s national security.”
According to the indictment and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, “Acting at the request of PRC government officials and the CCP representatives, Sun engaged in numerous political activities in the interests of the PRC and the CCP,” including:
- blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to high-level New York State officers;
- changing high-level New York State officers’ messaging regarding issues of importance to the PRC and the CCP;
- obtaining official New York State proclamations for PRC government representatives without proper authorization;
- attempting to facilitate a trip to the PRC by a high-level New York State politician;
- arranging meetings for visiting delegations from the PRC government with New York State government officials.
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She also “repeatedly violated internal rules and protocols within the New York State government to provide improper benefits to PRC and the CCP representatives, including by providing unauthorized invitation letters from the office of high-level New York State officers that were used to facilitate travel by PRC government officials into the United States for meetings with New York State government officials.”
Her husband laundered the bribe money through the bank account in the name of a close relative that he set up using an image of that relative’s drivers license, and to which he had exclusive access, according to the indictment.
In exchange for her assistance, it’s alleged that Sun received millions of dollars in kickbacks and other benefits from the PRC, including:
- the facilitation of millions of dollars in transactions for the PRC-based business activities of Hu
- travel benefits;
- tickets to events;
- promotion of a close family friend’s business;
- employment for Sun’s cousin in the PRC;
- and Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a PRC government official’s personal chef that were delivered to the residence of Sun’s parents.
Sun and Hu used the money to purchase three homes and numerous luxury vehicles, including a 2024 Ferrari. The folks at Marco Polo found photos of the largesse:
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Sun and Hu were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn.