Former Top Aide of Hochul Charged With Spying for Beijing

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 worked in state government for about 15 years, holding positions in the administration of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and eventually becoming Hochul’s deputy chief of staff, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In November 2022, Sun took a job at the New York Department of Labor as deputy commissioner for strategic business development, but she left that job months later, in March 2023, her profile states.

According to an unsealed indictment, Sun allegedly acted as an undisclosed agent of the CCP while holding high-ranking positions under Cuomo and Hochul, who are referred to in the document as Politician-1 and Politician-2. Sun is accused of having “engaged in numerous political activities in the interests of the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and the CCP.”

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.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Cuomo, Hochul’s office, and Sun’s attorney for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.