A former top aide to New York Govs. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Kathy Hochul (D) used her high-ranking position in the state’s government to peddle influence for China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while profiting millions in the process, an unsealed federal indictment alleges.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment against 41-year-old Linda Sun, born in China and a naturalized American citizen, and her husband, 40-year-old Chris Hu. The indictment charges the couple with operating a money laundering and bank fraud scheme thanks in part to Sun’s allegedly acting as an agent of influence for China while working in Cuomo and Hochul’s administrations.
The couple were arrested and arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
The 64-page indictment is far-reaching, detailing Sun’s alleged work as an agent for China and her husband’s subsequent illegal business dealings in China. In particular, the indictment lays out how Sun allegedly acted on behalf of the CCP while working for Cuomo, who is called “Politician-1,” and Hochul, who is called “Politician-2.” The indictment states:
The defendant LINDA SUN acted at the order, direction, or request of representatives of the [People’s Republic of China (PRC)] government and the CCP to engage in political activities intended to influence the public, including the [New York State (NYS)] government, with respect to the political or public interests of the PRC government and the CCP.
Linda Sun, seen in this photo taken by a local New York media outlet, attends a 2019 protest in Manhattan against the Taiwanese President’s visit to New York City. (Photo via Department of Justice)
Sun, in various instances, allegedly prevented Cuomo and Hochul from working, engaging, and speaking with Taiwanese officials. At the same time, Sun allegedly had Cuomo and Hochul make seemingly pro-China statements to appease CCP officials.
During the Chinese coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, for example, the Taiwanese government donated 200,000 masks to New York. When Taiwanese officials pressed why then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office had not made any public announcement about the donation, Sun allegedly phoned her contact in the CCP to make them aware that Hochul would be only privately calling to thank such Taiwanese officials for the donation.
“Taipei economic and cultural office donated 200,000 surgical masks. No formal acknowledgment but I will be arranging for [Politician-2] to call their office to thank them. Just wanted to update you,” Sun allegedly wrote to her CCP contact.
That same month, Sun’s CCP contact told her that various China-based organizations would be donating about 1,000 ventilators to New York’s hospital association amid the pandemic. Sun, the indictment alleges, told her CCP contact that she would have then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo call him to thank him for the donation and that she would have him thank China publicly for the donation.
On April 4, via Twitter, Cuomo publicly thanked China:
We finally got some good news today.
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 4, 2020
The Chinese government helped facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators that will arrive in JFK today.
I thank the Chinese government, Jack Ma, Joe Tsai, the Jack Ma Foundation, the Tsai Foundation and Consul General Huang.
In another instance, Sun allegedly worked directly with her CCP contacts to shape a Lunar New Year message that would be delivered by Hochul in early 2021. The CCP contacts got an advance draft of Hochul’s remarks and Sun allegedly made sure that the lieutenant governor made no mention of China’s detention of Uyghurs.
“Based on feedback from a PRC government official, SUN took action to ensure that Politician-2 did not publicly address the detention of Uyghurs in PRC state-run camps in Xinjiang Province,” the indictment reads:
In fact, in her public Lunar New Year message for 2021, Politician-2 did not refer to the plight of Uyghurs in the PRC. PRC Official-1 posted Politician-2’s Lunar New Year message to the PRC Consulate Facebook page. [Emphasis added]
Hochul’s Lunar New Year message remains posted on Facebook:
Lunar New Year Greetings from New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul
My old friend Kathy Hochul, New York State Lieutenant Governor sends her best wishes and festival greetings. She said, “our strength comes through our diversity and that comes through the immigrants who have found their way here and built this country. ”
Posted by Chinese Consul General in New York Huang Ping on Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Sun also allegedly worked hard to ensure that Cuomo, as New York governor, did not officially recognize Taiwan and did not refer to China as the “Republic of China.”
“In late August 2019, the defendant LINDA SUN provided an edit to a draft statement by Politician-1 in order to avoid any state recognition of Taiwan,” the indictment states:
The draft statement commemorated soldiers and veterans of the U.S. and Taiwanese armed forces. SUN’s sole proposed edit to the statement was the following: “Politically can we refrain from using the phrase ‘Republic of China’ so as to avoid creating an international incident by recognizing Taiwan.” In an internal email, SUN eventually indicated her approval of a draft statement that removed all references to the “Republic of China.” [Emphasis added]
In June 2018, Sun allegedly committed visa fraud and forged formal invitations to invite CCP officials from the Henan Province in China to meet with Hochul in New York to discuss enhancing cooperation between the two states.
Hochul can seemingly be seen meeting with the Henan Province officials in a photo included in the indictment:
Photo via Department of Justice
Throughout 2018 and 2019, Sun allegedly worked with her CCP contacts to organize an official trip to China for Hochul where she would visit China’s largest electric bus factory in the Henan Province as well as Zhengzhou University.
The trip ultimately did not happen. Sun told her CCP contacts that she had spoken with Hochul about visiting China and that the lieutenant governor did not want to make such a trip at the time.
As part of her and her husband’s services, the indictment alleges that Sun was rewarded with millions from the CCP — allowing them to purchase in cash a $3.6 million home in Manhasset, New York, and a $1.9 million condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii, along with a recently purchased Ferrari Roma.
“SUN never disclosed any benefits she received from representatives of the PRC government and the CCP to the NYS government, as she was required to do as a NYS government employee,” the indictment reads.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
