Ex-aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul charged as Chinese agent

A former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.

Linda Sun, 41, “acted at the order, direction, or request” of Beijing in return for millions of dollars in kickbacks, special home deliveries of salted duck and other perks, according to a federal indictment.

Prosecutors say she and Christopher Hu, her husband and co-defendant, used their ill-gotten gains to purchase real estate and luxury vehicles.

The couple pleaded not guilty to the charges against them in a Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday.

Ms Sun was sacked nearly two years ago after the office of Ms Hochul, who became governor in 2021, discovered “evidence of misconduct” and reported it to the authorities.

She and Mr Hu now face charges including violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, bringing in four illegal immigrants and money laundering conspiracy.

Prosecutors say that Ms Sun acted as “an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government”, while her husband “facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain”.

She is alleged to have blocked representatives of Taiwan’s government from speaking to New York officials, provided unauthorised invitation letters to the US for Chinese officials, unilaterally changed state officials’ messaging about China and even added a Chinese official on to a private state government conference call about the Covid-19 public health response.

Christie Curtis, the acting assistant director of the FBI, said Ms Sun “wielded her position… to covertly promote” the Chinese agenda, “directly threatening our country’s national security”.

In return, prosecutors say Ms Sun was given rewards totalling millions of dollars. They were also given show tickets, travel perks and food including, according to the indictment, at least 16 meals of Nanjing-style salted duck prepared by a Chinese government representative’s personal chef and delivered to the home of Ms Sun’s parents.

The couple laundered large amounts of money to buy luxuries including a Ferrari and property in Hawaii and New York, the indictment adds.

“The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars,” said US Attorney Breon Peace.

According to the indictment, Mr Hu operated several businesses in New York, including a seafood exporter, a wine store and a financial consultancy, and frequently relied on the services of an authorised freight agent of the Chinese government.

Ms Sun, a naturalised US citizen born in China, had held multiple high-ranking posts in the state’s executive branch and state agencies since 2012, and served as Ms Hochul’s deputy chief of staff for almost a year before she was sacked in 2023.

The governor’s office said Ms Sun had been originally employed by the previous administration of Andrew Cuomo, who quit in August 2021 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

“This individual was hired by the executive chamber more than a decade ago,” a spokesperson told the BBC.

“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.”

In an appearance on WNYC local radio, Ms Hochul said she was “outraged” by the “betrayal of trust” but added that Ms Sun “primarily worked for Andrew Cuomo”.

“She was with me just a short time, about 15 months,” she said.

But a spokesperson for Mr Cuomo pushed back, telling WNYC that Ms Sun “had little to no interaction” with the then-governor during his tenure, only to be promoted by the Hochul administration.

Ms Sun and Mr Hu were arrested on Tuesday morning at their $3.5m (£2.7m) Long Island gated-community home, roughly six weeks after the residence was raided as part of an FBI investigation.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy, cautioned in a statement to the New York Times that “in recent years, the US government and media have frequently hyped up the so-called ‘Chinese agents’ narratives, many of which have later been proven untrue”.

“China requires its citizens overseas to comply with the laws and regulations of the host country, and we firmly oppose the groundlessly slandering and smearing targeting China,” he wrote.

In court on Tuesday afternoon, Ms Sun was ordered to have no contact with the Chinese consulate and mission in New York.

Judge Brian Cogan also ruled that the pair will have their travel limited to New York City, the Long Island borough, and the states of Maine and New Hampshire.

He released Ms Sun on a $1.5m bond and Mr Hu on a $500,000 bond. Both will report back to the judge later this month.