DOJ says former NY Gov. aide spied for China

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday unsealed an indictment alleging that a former aide for two New York governors worked as a spy for China, the Justice Department said. Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff, Linda Sun, worked as an unregistered foreign agent, committed visa fraud, smuggled illegal immigrants into the United States, and conspired to launder money, the DOJ alleged.

Police officers on Tuesday arrested Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, whom prosecutors allege participated in Sun’s schemes and whom they also named in their indictment. Prosecutors’ allegations are simply claims and do not constitute proof of wrongdoing. Both defendants should be presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law, the DOJ said. WORLD reached out to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

What sort of activities did Sun allegedly engage in? During her career as a New York government official, Sun blocked Taiwanese diplomats from meeting with high-level New York officials, the DOJ said. She allegedly modified high-ranking New York officials’ messaging and language about topics important to China. She also obtained official New York State proclamations for Chinese officials without proper authorization, the DOJ alleged.

Further, Sun allegedly violated internal rules and policies within the New York state government to benefit Chinese officials. She procured unauthorized invitation letters for Chinese government representatives to facilitate their travels into the United States for meetings with New York officials, prosecutors said. Those unauthorized invitation letters essentially enabled Chinese officials to enter the country illegally, the DOJ explained.

How did her husband factor into this? Chinese officials paid Hu and Sun millions of dollars in transactions associated with Chinese businesses Hu was involved in, prosecutors alleged. Chinese officials also showered the couple with tickets to events and travel benefits and provided their family members and friends in China with business promotions, jobs, and lavish dinners, the DOJ added.

Sun and Hu laundered kickbacks from the Chinese government and used them to purchase multi-million dollar residences in New York and Hawaii, as well as a 2024 Ferrari sportscar, prosecutors said. Sun never disclosed the benefits she received from the Chinese government even though New York government policies required her to do so, prosecutors added.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about a supposed pro-democracy activist who was really spying for Beijing on anti-Chinese Communist Party activists in the United States.