Former deputy chief of staff for the New York Governor, Linda Sun, and her husband Chris Hu are facing charges of acting as illegal agents for the Chinese Communist Party and money laundering. The case had a status conference at the Eastern District federal court in Brooklyn on April 23, and the judge has tentatively scheduled jury selection for July 28 with a three-week trial expected.
At yesterday’s meeting, the defense raised concerns about the tone of the prosecution’s subpoenas, alleging that it had prevented witnesses from contacting the defense and requested the exclusion of related evidence. Judge Cogan found that the government’s communication was within the normal and reasonable range, with no evidence demonstrating a hindrance to witness testimony. The judge rejected the defense’s request, stating that it was not the government’s responsibility to determine how witnesses choose to testify.
Regarding the controversy surrounding the search of Sun’s Gmail emails, the defense pointed out that law enforcement had obtained a search warrant in 2022 and conducted a search, but a report from the relevant evidence was lost. A subsequent search in 2024 was conducted without a new Gmail search warrant, raising questions of legality and privacy infringement. The prosecution emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, with mobile conversation records being translated and private computer contents being analyzed, promising to provide more evidence in due course.
Sun began working in the Governor’s office under former Governor Cuomo in 2012, serving as director of minority affairs, external affairs director of the New York State Department of Economic Development, and deputy chief diversity officer of the financial services department. She was promoted to deputy chief of staff under Governor Hochul in 2021 before resigning in 2022 and moving to the Department of Labor. She is accused of not registering as a foreign agent while following directives from Chinese officials, preventing Taiwan representatives from meeting with high-ranking New York officials, divulging confidential Governor meeting information to Chinese officials, facilitating Chinese officials’ visits and schedules, and advocating for Chinese interests within New York State.
The indictment alleges that in exchange for these actions, she assisted her husband in obtaining millions of dollars in business benefits in China, using the funds to purchase a $4 million Long Island mansion and a Ferrari. Hu is accused of laundering money through accounts opened in relatives’ names and engaging in bank fraud and identity theft.
According to documents obtained by news website “Gothamist,” in a letter dated February 2023, New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang revealed that Sun had inappropriately requested three state proclamations for her father, a family friend, and the Chinese Consul General in New York, Huang Ping. These requests were made without authorization and were never recorded in the state tracking system, leading to an investigation and Sun’s dismissal from the New York Department of Labor in March 2023.
Lang emphasized that Sun participated in public events unrelated to her duties without informing the Labor Department, forwarding the proclamations to Huang without following the rules. Sun also applied for two commendations to celebrate her father and a family friend’s “Year of the Rabbit” birthdays without permission from the Governor’s office. The investigation revealed that she knew these proclamations were not to be used for personal purposes but still submitted the requests, initially denying them (at that time, she had moved from the Governor’s office to the Labor Department, yet still approached a Governor’s communications department employee for the requests), only admitting to the specifics once the dates were exposed.
Sun submitted the applications in January 2023, was reported two weeks later, investigated by the Inspector General in February, and then dismissed in March, resulting in swift developments.
Sun’s lawyer stated that the proclamation issue was due to administrative confusion, and Sun has agreed to return the proclamations. Governor Hochul mentioned transferring relevant information to federal investigatory agencies and emphasized that Sun’s actions were “highly improper.”
This incident triggered a federal investigation, leading to Sun’s arrest in September 2024 on charges of working as an agent for Chinese officials in exchange for assisting her husband in developing a seafood business in China and profiting millions of dollars to purchase properties and luxury cars. Currently, Sun is out on a $1.5 million bail, while Hu is on a $500,000 bail, and both have denied all accusations.