In a trial that entered its 13th day on December 5th, former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Hochu, Sun Wen, and her husband Hu Xiao were accused of illegal activities including acting as agents for a foreign country, receiving kickbacks, and money laundering. The New York City Investigation Bureau’s (NYCIG) deputy inspector general, Thomas Collery, testified on that day, focusing on his involvement in the investigation of Sun Wen “issuing a commendation order without authorization”.
Collery recalled his participation as an investigative consultant in reviewing Sun Wen’s actions in February 2023. Despite Sun Wen having transferred to the New York State Department of Labor in September 2022, she still privately contacted former colleagues in the governor’s office, requesting commendation orders for her uncle, father, and China Consul General Huang Ping to be issued during the Chinese New Year celebration.
Ultimately, without authorization, Sun Wen personally presented the commendation order to Huang Ping in mid-January 2023. She also prepared similar documents for her uncle and father’s birthday celebrations.
After the incident was reported, Sun Wen was questioned by the New York State Inspector General’s office for nearly an hour. The courtroom played recordings of the interrogation, revealing inconsistencies between her statements and email records.
At the beginning of the recording, Sun Wen swore to answer questions truthfully. Investigators first asked if she attended community events on official duties. Sun Wen replied that she had been active in the Chinese community for years and would attend multiple events during the Chinese New Year period, some in a personal capacity and some representing the government.
Investigators then inquired if she had requested commendation orders from the governor’s office. Sun Wen explained that the governor’s office issued various proclamations every year, such as Women’s Month and Asian Heritage Month, and a commendation order was an official statement signed by the governor to recognize special days or achievements, stating she never “issued commendation orders to individuals”.
At this point, Collery pointed out to the jury that Sun Wen had lied – the commendation orders she requested from former colleagues were indeed intended for her relatives and Huang Ping, all of whom were “individuals”.
The recording continued with investigators directly asking under what circumstances the Chinese New Year commendation order would be presented by her personally. Sun Wen replied that when she worked in the governor’s office, she would often present commendation orders 20-30 times in January, but after moving to the Department of Labor, she “was no longer responsible for this”.
When asked why she requested commendation orders via email from the governor’s office, Sun Wen initially denied it, then changed her statement, saying she remembered asking twice. She claimed it was for her uncle and father’s birthday celebrations. When questioned about the personal nature of the request, she retorted, asking, “What’s the problem with that?” and defended herself by stating that recipients of commendations “would not do anything wrong”.
Collery noted that from that moment, Sun Wen’s demeanor noticeably shifted from confidence to nervousness, even sweating profusely.
Investigators further inquired if she had requested other commendation orders. Sun Wen initially denied it, then added, “Are you talking about the consulate?” She stated that it was at the request of the consul general’s assistant and she merely forwarded the request to her former colleagues, asking them to present it directly to the assistant after framing it.
Investigators continued to question, asking who presented the commendation order at the event. Sun Wen explained that she was invited to speak at the consulate and she “had to comply”. Huang Ping handed her the commendation order and took a photo with her, but Sun Wen emphasized that she “didn’t issue it, it was handed to me, I can only say the commendation order was already there”. However, she admitted that she was introduced at the event as the “Deputy Commissioner of Labor” and gave a speech on stage after the photo.
Investigators questioned whether these actions were related to her role at the Department of Labor. Sun Wen replied, “I would say no. But in terms of community relations, I would say yes.” She added that she was friends with Huang Ping and that her parents were present. She had started attending their events since she worked for Meng Zhaowen, which had been many years.
Continued questioning revealed that during her entire testimony, Sun Wen was eloquent in her responses.
“She spoke very confidently,” Collery recalled, “but I knew she was lying.” He added, “What struck us the most was how confident she was when lying.”
Before the recording ended, Sun Wen agreed to immediately return improperly obtained commendation orders and mentioned that two additional framed commendation orders prepared for her family were in her car.
Subsequently, on March 2nd, the New York State Department of Labor officially terminated Sun Wen based on “evidence of misconduct”.
With the prosecution witnesses’ testimony concluded, an incident worth noting occurred on the previous day (day 12 of the trial), where the defense suddenly requested to postpone the trial until next year. The reason given was that the mobile data presented by the prosecution from the former president of the Henan Hometown Association, Zhang Fuyin, was “only a fraction extracted by the FBI from a 1TB hard drive”, and they needed time to review the complete content, much of which was in Chinese and required translation.
The prosecution strongly opposed this delay, stating it amounted to stalling and could lead to a mistrial. They offered to provide a full copy of the hard drive but insisted on proceeding with the trial without delay.
The judge ultimately rejected the defense’s request for an extension and announced that the defense witnesses would testify starting the following Monday. The judge also reminded Sun Wen and Hu Xiao that they must decide whether they wanted to take the stand in their own defense.
Following up:
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (1): Prosecution accuses Sun Wen of secretly acting for the CCP
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (2): Prosecution accuses Sun Wen of forging the governor’s signature
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (3): Discovery of jewelry and cash exposes CCP’s united front activities
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (4): Joint account and $1.6 million wire transfer
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (5): Seven-figure fund flow towards a sea-view apartment
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (6): Report to the Chinese consulate manipulating New York State procurement
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (7): Hindering interactions between Taiwan representatives and the New York State government
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (8): Discrepancies between tax filings and luxurious lifestyle
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (9): Political and business entanglements
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (10): Intense prosecution-defense battle over “Chinese remittances” suspicions
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (11): Sun Wen’s consultations with the consulate on congratulatory message points
Sun Wen and Hu Xiao Case (12): Concealing $2 million income exposed kickback pathways