Ex-Hochul and Cuomo aide and husband worked as foreign agents for China, splurged millions on mansion, Hawaii condo, Ferrari: feds
The former high-ranking aide for Gov. Kathy Hochul and disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was arrested along with her husband Tuesday, acted as a foreign agent for China in exchange for millions of dollars in kickbacks and fancy perks such as salted ducks, according to a bombshell indictment.
The damning 64-page indictment accuses Linda Sun, 41, and her husband, Christopher Hu, 40, of reaping their corrupt gains on a gaudy new $4 million house in Manhasset, a $2 million second home in Honolulu high-rise and luxury cars such as 2024 Ferrari.
Sun shadily used her position under Hochul and Cuomo – who are unnamed but clearly referenced in the court documents – to turn the governor’s office into a virtual mouthpiece for the People’s Republic of China and Chinese Community Party, the indictment contends.
At several points, Sun bragged to Chinese consulate officials about effectively blocking Cuomo and Hochul from meeting with or publicly even mentioning Taiwan, including when the disputed island sent 200,000 much-needed masks to New York during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, documents state.
“The defendant Linda Sun received substantial economic and other benefits from representatives of the PRC government and the CCP, including the facilitation of millions of dollars in transactions for the PRC-based business activities of Sun’s husband, the defendant Chris Hu,” the indictment reads in part.
Sun and Hu laundered kickbacks she received from China and the CCP to buy the $4.1 million Long Island home that FBI agents raided in July, the indictment contends.
The pair are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn federal court on charges of violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.
The indictment details years of efforts by Sun, allegedly at the request of the Chinese consulate, to minimize contact between Taiwanese government officials and New York’s governor’s office under both Cuomo and Hochul starting in 2016.
She boasted about her successful efforts in messages to Chinese officials that often revealed behind-the-scenes tellings of how decisions were made by the governor’s office, the indictment contends.
“I almost had a heart attack when we referred to Taiwan as a country,” she texted one Chinese official about an October 2020 press release, the indictment states. “Thankfully I had the press team correct it immediately.”
As Sun blocked Taiwanese officials’ access to top New York officials, she looped Chinese counterparts into sensitive discussions, including one private March 2020 government call about the response to the then-burgeoning pandemic, the indictment states.
In one instance, Sun successfully got Cuomo to publicly thank a Chinese official – who appears to be Consul General Huang Ping – on social media for helping line up 1 million surgical masks for New York essential workers, documents state.
Sun had even appeared on stage with Huang, who identified her as the Deputy Labor Commissioner, which was not her title – a presentation documented by a photo included in the indictment.
The indictment mentions Huang, as PRC Official 1, 42 times.
Sun, while working under Hochul, went beyond her authority by obtaining and publicly presenting an official New York State proclamation for Huang in January 2023, the indictment states.
She obtained the proclamation “outside ordinary channels” and sent state staffers who created the honor a personal gift basket and wine, according to the indictment.
Sun was interviewed by the Inspector General’s office a few weeks later in February and was fired on March 2.
A spokesperson for Hochul’s office noted Sun was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago.
“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,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
