Ex-aide to New York governor Hochul charged with acting as Chinese agent
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Linda Sun, a former aide to New York State governor Kathy Hochul, leaving court with husband Chris Hu, on Sept 3.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK - A former aide to New York governor Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government in exchange for millions of dollars in compensation and gifts, including meals of gourmet duck.
Linda Sun, 41, and her husband Chris Hu, 40, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges before US Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo in Brooklyn, after being arrested on Sept 3 morning.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said that while working in state government, Sun blocked representatives of the Taiwanese government from meeting with officials, and sought to arrange for a high-level New York state official to visit China.
In exchange, prosecutors said Chinese government representatives facilitated millions of dollars in transactions for Hu, 40, who had business activities in China.
The couple used the money to buy a 2024 Ferrari Roma sports car as well as property on New York’s Long Island and in Honolulu together worth about US$6 million (S$7.8 million), prosecutors said.
Other gifts included Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef and delivered to the home of Sun’s parents, prosecutors said.
Lawyers for Sun and Hu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ms Hochul was not accused of any wrongdoing.
Her office fired Sun in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, reported Sun’s actions immediately to the authorities, and assisted law enforcement throughout the process, a spokesperson for the governor said.
Judge Kuo ordered Sun released on a US$1.5 million bond and Hu, on a US$500,000 bond.
Their next court appearance is Sept 25.
“Our client is understandably upset that these charges have been brought,” Sun’s lawyer Jarrod Schaeffer told reporters after the hearing.
A spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sun became Ms Hochul’s deputy chief of staff in September 2021, after working in various state agencies.
New York governor Kathy Hochul waving from the stage during the Democratic National Convention in the US, on Aug 19, 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The US Department of Justice has in recent years cracked down on people accused of working on behalf of adversaries such as China and Russia, without registering with the US government as required by law.
In August, Chinese academic Wang Shujun was convicted
Sun faces eight counts, including failure to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and money laundering conspiracy. Hu faces two counts, including bank fraud conspiracy. REUTERS
