A former deputy chief of staff for Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) has been arrested by federal law enforcement for acting as an unregistered foreign agent on behalf of the People’s Republic of China and accepting kickbacks from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Linda Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, were taken into custody early Tuesday morning after a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raid on their multi-million dollar Long Island residence.
The Democrat aide worked as an Asian-American affairs liaison under former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) before being elevated to deputy chief of staff under Hochul. Sun was later transferred to the state’s Department of Labor, where she was fired earlier this year over undisclosed “misconduct” allegations.
According to the now unsealed 64-page federal indictment, Sun and Hu coordinated efforts to advance the interests of the CCP in New York. The ex-aide to the Democratic governor is accused of blocking attempts by the Taiwanese government to meet with Hochul and editing the statements of undisclosed state leaders to be more friendly towards Communist China.
“The defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement following the unsealing of the indictment. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”
Federal prosecutors allege that Sun and Hu took millions of dollars in payments from the Chinese Communist regime in exchange for aiding the foreign influence operation. Some of the money taken by the couple was used in the purchase of their $4.1 million Long Island, New York home.
Sun is a close ally of Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY). She is the latest Democrat to be arrested in connection to a foreign influence scheme.