Linda Sun, Ex-Top Aide to NY Governor Hochul, Arrested on Foreign Agent Charges

Linda Sun, a former top aide to New York governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo, was arrested on federal charges that she acted as an unregistered foreign agent for China in exchange for millions of dollars.

The indictment unsealed in Brooklyn on Tuesday also names her husband, businessman Chris Hu, who is accused of money-laundering in the transfer of the funds. The US alleges that while working for both governors, Sun acted on behalf of China, including blocking representatives of Taiwan from access to the highest levels of state government.

With the funds they got from China, the couple bought a $4.1 million home on Long Island’s north shore, a $2.1 million ocean-view condo in Honolulu and a 2024 Ferrari Roma, according to the US.

Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Sun was released on a $1.5 million bond, Hu on a $500,000 bond. They are due back in court on Sept. 25.

Neither Hochul nor Cuomo was accused of any wrongdoing.

“While appearing to serve the people of New York as deputy chief of staff,” Sun, 41, “actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government,” Breon Peace, the US attorney in Brooklyn, said in a statement. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family.”

Jarrod Schaeffer, a lawyer who is defending Sun with his partner Ken Abell, said after the hearing that Sun “is understandably upset that these charges have been brought” and that “we look forward to addressing them in court.”

Seth DuCharme, a lawyer for Hu, 40, said “we have a lot of confidence in our case” and that “a number of the allegations in the indictment are frankly inflammatory and perplexing.”

Avi Small, a representative for Hochul, said Sun was hired more than a decade ago and then fired in March 2023 after the governor’s office discovered “evidence of misconduct,” when it “immediately reported her actions to law enforcement.” Small said in a statement that the office has “assisted law enforcement throughout this process.”

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement that “national security is critical and must be free from foreign influence.” He said Sun didn’t have much interaction with Cuomo during her tenure in his office.

Under Cuomo, Sun served as global New York trade manager and Asian outreach director.

Peace alleges that Sun “repeatedly violated internal rules and protocols” of the governor’s office to “provide improper benefits” to China and the Chinese Communist Party.

That includes improperly facilitating meetings between the state and Chinese officials as well as changing the messaging from high-level New York officials on issues of importance to the Chinese government, the US claims.

The case is US v. Linda Sun, 24-cr-346, US District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).