Former Deputy Chief of Staff in the New York Governor’s Office and former Deputy Commissioner of the State Labor Department Linda Sun (41 years old) and her husband Chris Hu (40 years old) were arrested on Tuesday morning. The prosecution charged Sun with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as visa fraud, human smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. Hu was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of identity documents. Both individuals were granted bail after appearing in court, with travel restrictions imposed and prohibited from any contact with the Chinese Consulate and its diplomatic missions.
In addition to obstructing meetings between government representatives and the New York State government, Sun also took various actions to align with the expectations of the Chinese consulate representatives.
During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Sun collaborated with Chinese consulate officials to facilitate the transport of protective equipment to China, later arranging for supplies to be transported to New York. She repeatedly recommended a logistics company, referred to as Company A, with which her husband had business dealings, and in communications with consulate officials, she identified it as her husband’s company.
Sun also used her position to involve consulate officials in closed meetings of the New York State government, such as on March 16, when she surreptitiously added Consulate Officer 4 to a telephone meeting discussing COVID-19 response and anti-Asian hate crimes targeting Asian Americans organized by the state government. This call was not open to the public, and the name of Consulate Officer 4 was not on the invitation list. Sun reminded Officer 4 to remain muted during the call. After the call, Officer 4 described it as “very useful.”
Furthermore, when China donated ventilators to New York, Sun facilitated Governor Cuomo’s public appreciation. On April 4, 2020, Cuomo publicly thanked Consul General Huang Ping for arranging the donation in a statement and on Twitter. As a result, Sun received praise from Consul General Huang, who commended her extraordinary performance in Governor Cuomo’s work. On the same day, the owner of Company A requested Sun’s assistance in promoting the logistics arrangements for ventilator donations, ultimately resulting in Company A charging the New York State government over $700,000 for logistics services.
In early 2021, Sun provided consulate officials with the opportunity to influence Governor Cuomo’s public statements, actively assisting in previewing and adjusting Huochu’s speech content based on their suggestions to ensure the avoidance of mentioning the Uighur issue in public remarks.
Eventually, in Huochu’s public speech during the lunar new year in 2021, he did not mention the plight of the Uighurs. This content was then released by the consulate on their social media platforms.
According to the indictment, after transferring to the Labor Department in September 2022, Sun continued to act as an agent for consulate officials, engaging in activities beyond her official duties.
In January 2023, at the consulate’s request, she arranged for the production of a commendation certificate for Governor Cuomo without authorization, sending it privately to Consulate Officer 1. Sun obtained the commendation certificate outside of regular procedures and gifted a wine basket to employees who assisted her.
On February 14, 2023, Sun was interviewed by the New York State Inspector General’s Office. During the conversation, she claimed to have attended Asian community events in a personal capacity; upon further inquiry, she admitted to requesting the issuance of a commendation certificate for Consul General 1 after receiving the consulate’s request. She also admitted to participating in a Chinese New Year event in mid-January 2023, where Consul General 1 invited her to speak on stage, identifying her as the Deputy Commissioner of the Labor Department. Sun admitted to not informing the Labor Department about issuing the commendation to Huang Ping and not obtaining permission from the Governor’s office.
Sun was fired from the Labor Department in March 2023. However, she continued to identify herself as the Deputy Commissioner of the Labor Department in Asian community events until she received a cease-and-desist order from the Labor Department in August.
In addition to acting as an agent for the consulate, Sun participated in political activities supervised, directed, and controlled by Chinese government officials at the request of CC-1 (Chairman of the Henan Association) and CC-2 (Overseas Chinese leader of Shandong-related groups). These activities aimed to further the public interest, policies, or relationships of the Chinese Communist Party, especially enhancing economic and political connections between Henan Province and New York.
Sun’s activities included obtaining state government letters fraudulently to invite Chinese government officials to visit New York; arranging meetings between visiting Chinese government officials and New York state officials, including meetings with Huochu; obtaining false employment letters for CC-1; and attempting to facilitate Huochu’s visit to China, especially in Henan Province.
The indictment outlined that Sun was well aware that CC-1 and CC-2 were also agents of the Chinese government when they made requests of her. In written communications with Sun, CC-1 explicitly stated that he was acting on behalf of China. For example, in April 2018, CC-1 informed Sun that he was participating in a “Belt and Road” roundtable meeting held in Henan Province, China. CC-1 stated that the meeting was organized by five overseas Huai’an Affairs Offices of Henan Provincial People’s Government, where he was the only representative of overseas Chinese from Henan and would deliver a speech at the meeting.
In return for Sun representing Henan Province in political activities, CC-1 and CC-2 assisted her husband, Chris Hu, in his business activities in China.
In the spring of 2018, at CC-1’s request, Sun arranged for a delegation from Henan Province to meet with Huochu in the United States. After a dinner on March 18, Sun received a list of the delegation’s members and an invitation letter for signing. On March 23, she informed CC-1 that the letter was ready but unsigned by Huochu. On March 26, CC-1 requested that a signed letter with Cuomo’s signature be sent.
On March 29, Sun sent an email from her government account with a draft invitation letter to the “Vice Chairman of the Henan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC),” listing the names, dates of birth, and official titles of each delegation member. On April 5, she provided CC-1 with two versions of the invitation letter, with a forged signature of Huochu.
On June 1, some delegation members received US visas, identifying themselves as representatives of the Henan Provincial government officials’ delegation, listing Huochu as their contact in the United States, and Sun’s personal phone number as their contact phone in the US.
On June 19, 2018, CC-1 provided Sun with a proposed list of topics for a meeting between the Henan Provincial delegation and Huochu, emphasizing cooperation in higher education, cultural exchanges, “sister province relationships, and visits,” to enhance “cooperation with New York State.” On June 26, Sun arranged for the Henan Provincial delegation to meet with Huochu to discuss economic cooperation between Henan Province and New York.
CC-1 and his close associates lobbied Sun to confer a New York State title on CC-1. CC-1 informed Sun that this would facilitate direct communication between him and top government officials in Henan Province, promoting economic cooperation between Henan Province and New York.
On August 28, CC-1 and his partners discussed ways to obtain this title from Sun. After a conversation with Sun, the partner informed CC-1 that Sun indicated the title was “only to promote cooperation among the leaders of Henan Province” and that they could not publicize it upon CC-1’s return to the US. CC-1 and his partner also discussed that having this New York State title would help CC-1’s personal promotion within the United Front Work Department.
On August 30, CC-1 told Sun about his plans to visit Henan Province the following day and inquired if Sun had confirmed the title for CC-1. Sun replied, “Asian American Advisory Committee.” At that time, Sun served as Cuomo’s Deputy Chief Diversity Officer and was a co-chair of the Governor’s Asian Advisory Committee, established in March 2018.
During the same conversation, CC-1 requested a written document reflecting this position, and Sun said she would write a letter on her office letterhead for CC-1. She also instructed CC-1 never to let anyone know what she was doing. CC-1 told Sun that if anyone asked, she should say Cuomo instructed her to write the letter. CC-1 also added that the association and CC-1 greatly appreciated Sun’s help.
From the end of 2018 to 2019, at the behest of CC-1, Sun coordinated Huochu’s visit to Henan Province, crucial for the political interests of the Chinese government.
In response to Henan Province’s expectations for hosting American public officials, Sun provided Huochu’s resume and proposed itinerary to CC-1, who urged swift action, otherwise “Henan Province would blame CC-1 for not working hard enough.” Over time, communications between CC-1 and Sun revealed Henan Province’s strong interest in the visit, detailing a series of proposed activities and meetings, including a visit to an electric bus factory.
By the end of April 2019, Sun indicated difficulties in arranging Huochu’s visit. When Sun hinted at uncertainty, CC-1 asked her to communicate with Cuomo, mentioning, “He is also a recipient of our donations, can we understand each other?” CC-1 emphasized that canceling the trip would make it awkward for them upon their return to Henan. Sun assured them they were a “team” and would work to achieve their goals.
Despite Sun’s efforts, Huochu ultimately did not visit that year. On November 5, CC-1’s partner commented, “‘Huochu’ doesn’t understand politics. Missed an opportunity!”
In 2019, Sun was implicated in drafting another false invitation letter for the “Henan Foreign Affairs Office Director’s visit to New York.” She communicated with CC-1 via email, promising to provide an invitation letter to support the delegation’s visa applications. The invitation letter claimed that the Henan Provincial government would invest $1 billion to cooperate with two universities in New York, aiming to establish a satellite campus in Henan, persuading Huochu to visit Henan.
Sun drafted and sent the invitation letter without authorization and is suspected of forging Huochu’s signature. This invitation letter was used to support the US visa applications of delegation members, ultimately enabling them to enter the US. Sun’s actions involve fraud and document forgery.
(To be continued)
The indictment revealed details: Sun obstructed a meeting between the New York Governor and Tsai Ing-wen.