THE United States Justice Department has filed charges against a former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, accusing the aide of pursuing unlawful “political activities” on behalf of the Chinese government.
The aide in question, 41-year-old Linda Sun, was appointed as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff in 2021 and previously worked under Hochul’s predecessor, Governor Andrew Cuomo.
But in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, federal prosecutors accused Sun and her husband Christopher Hu, 40, of using her position to benefit the Chinese government and profit from the exchange.
“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,” Christie Curtis, the acting assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said in a press release.
The indictment is the latest in a series of moves the Justice Department has taken to counter the “national security threats” it perceives from China.
Sun and Hu were both arrested on Tuesday morning. They appeared for their arraignment at a federal court in Brooklyn later that afternoon.
In the indictment, Sun was accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by failing to register as an agent working on behalf of China and by having “actively concealed” her relationship with its government.
The document also alleged she had committed visa fraud and alien smuggling, as well as entering a money laundering conspiracy.
Hu, meanwhile, was charged with the money laundering conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and using a family member’s identity to open new bank accounts.
In the indictment, federal prosecutors detailed how they believe the couple “laundered millions of dollars” for China in exchange for kickbacks to buy “luxury vehicles and million-dollar properties” in New York.
That includes a $4.1m property in Manhasset, New York, and a $2.1m condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Prosecutors also say the benefits afford Sun and Hu the ability to buy a 2024 Ferrari luxury vehicle.
