A former aide to New York governor Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.
Linda Sun, 41, “acted at the order, direction, or request” of China during her 14-year state government career in return for millions of dollars, a federal indictment alleges. Her husband, Christopher Hu, is also accused of being a Chinese agent.
The couple were arrested at their $3.5m (£2.7m) Long Island home on Tuesday, months after it was raided as part of an FBI investigation.
Ms Sun was sacked nearly two years ago after the office of Ms Hochul, who became governor in 2021, discovered “evidence of misconduct” and reported it to the authorities.
The pair were due to face a Brooklyn federal court on charges including violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, bringing in aliens and money laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors say that Ms Sun acted as “an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government”, while her husband “facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain”.
She is alleged to have blocked representatives of Taiwan’s government from speaking to New York officials, provided unauthorised invitation letters to the US for Chinese officials and changed state officials’ messaging about China.
Christie Curtis, the acting assistant director of the FBI, said Ms Sun “wielded her position… to covertly promote” the Chinese agenda, “directly threatening our country’s national security”.
In return, prosecutors claim Ms Sun was given rewards totalling millions of dollars. They were also given show tickets, travel perks and food including, according to the indictment, meals of Nanjing-style salted duck.
The couple laundered large amounts of money to buy luxuries including a Ferrari sports car and property in Hawaii and New York, the indictment says.
“The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars,” said US Attorney Breon Peace.
The indictment says Mr Hu operated several businesses in New York, including a seafood exporter, a wine store and a financial consultancy, and frequently relied on the services of an authorised freight agent of the Chinese government.
Ms Sun had held multiple high-ranking posts in the state’s executive branch and state agencies since 2012, and served as Ms Hochul’s deputy chief of staff for almost a year before she was sacked in 2023.
The governor’s office said Ms Sun had been originally employed by the previous administration of Andrew Cuomo, who quit in August 2021 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
“This individual was hired by the executive chamber more than a decade ago,” a spokesperson told the BBC.
“We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process.”
The FBI raided the couple’s $3.5m (£2.7m) home in July.
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