The United States Justice Department has filed charges against a former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, accusing the aide of pursuing unlawful “political activities” on behalf of the Chinese government.
The aide in question, 41-year-old Linda Sun, was appointed as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff in 2021 and previously worked under Hochul’s predecessor, Governor Andrew Cuomo.
But in an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, federal prosecutors accused Sun and her husband Christopher Hu, 40, of using her position to benefit the Chinese government and profit from the exchange.
“Linda Sun, a former New York State government employee, acted as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government while her husband, Christopher Hu, facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain,” Christie Curtis, the acting assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said in a press release.
The indictment is the latest in a series of moves the Justice Department has taken to counter the “national security threats” it perceives from China.
Sun and Hu were both arrested on Tuesday morning. They appeared for their arraignment at a federal court in Brooklyn later that afternoon.
In the indictment, Sun was accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by failing to register as an agent working on behalf of China and by having “actively concealed” her relationship with its government.
The document also alleged she had committed visa fraud and alien smuggling, as well as entering a money laundering conspiracy.
Hu, meanwhile, was charged with the money laundering conspiracy, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud and using a family member’s identity to open new bank accounts.
In the indictment, federal prosecutors detailed how they believe the couple “laundered millions of dollars” for China in exchange for kickbacks to buy “luxury vehicles and million-dollar properties” in New York.
That includes a $4.1m property in Manhasset, New York, and a $2.1m condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Prosecutors also say the benefits afford Sun and Hu the ability to buy a 2024 Ferrari luxury vehicle.
They also accused Sun of offering Chinese officials letters of invitation to travel to the US and arranging meetings with New York State leaders.
She even provided some Chinese government representatives “official New York State proclamations” without receiving the proper authorisation to do so first, according to the indictment.
That contrasts with her treatment of Taiwanese officials, the indictment alleged. It accused her of preventing representatives from Taiwan’s government from meeting with New York officials.
The government in Beijing has long denied Taiwan’s claims to sovereignty, as part of its “one China” policy. Rather, it maintains that the self-governing island is an integral part of China, under the authority of its government.
US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace explained in a news release that the “illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars”.
“While appearing to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government,” Peace said.
The US Justice Department has been cracking down on alleged interference from the Chinese government in recent months.
Less than two weeks ago, on August 22, it also filed an indictment against a New York resident who reportedly took part in the protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989, a major flashpoint for the pro-democracy movement in China.
The Justice Department accused that person of acting as an agent for China’s Ministry of State Security.
And last year, federal prosecutors announced charges against two men accused of running a “secret police station” in New York City. The Chinese government has refuted such claims of foreign espionage.
For her part, Sun left the New York governor office’s employ in 2022.
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