Linda Sun, former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday morning, a senior law enforcement official told News 4. Her husband, Chris Hu, was also arrested.
According to an indictment released later Tuesday, Sun and Hu are accused of using their connections with New York State government officials to act as unregistered agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Among numerous other allegations that they acted on the orders of PRC officials, Sun is alleged to have denied Taiwanese government officials access to the governor’s office and attempted to manipulate the public statements of two unnamed politicians on issues important to the CCP.
In return, Sun and her husband received business opportunities in China, travel benefits, luxury gifts and employment with a relative, the indictment says. They are also accused of money laundering dating back to January 2016.
The couple are accused of acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government, conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, money laundering, making false statements and immigration fraud in connection with unauthorized letters from New York State inviting Chinese government officials to the United States.
“The illegal scheme has enriched the defendant’s family by millions of dollars. Our office will act decisively to
to prosecute those who serve as undisclosed agents of a foreign government,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a press release.
Sun, 41, also worked in the Cuomo administration.
The couple is expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn this afternoon. NBC New York’s attempts to contact Sun, Hu and their representatives after the news was published were unsuccessful.
The arrests took place at the couple’s home on Long Island’s North Shore, which they allegedly bought with money received from the CCP. Other luxuries Sun and Hu indulged in included a $2.1 million condo in Honolulu, Hawaii, a 2024 Ferrari and a private chef hired by a Chinese official, according to the indictment.
News 4 reported in July that the FBI had searched Sun’s Manhasset home. Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, share the $3.5 million home in a gated community called Stone Hill on Long Island. The couple bought the home in 2021. Earlier this year, they put the house into a trust, records show.
Getty Images
According to her administration biography, Sun was appointed Hochul’s deputy chief of staff in September 2021. At the time, she was the highest-ranking Asian American in the administration.
Hochul’s office said she was removed from the governor’s office in 2023.
“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 reporting her actions to law enforcement, and assisting law enforcement throughout the process,” Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small said in a statement to News 4.
