Former Hochul aide Linda Sun, husband indicted on new money laundering allegations

A former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul who lives on Long Island and her husband are facing new allegations of money laundering in connection with charges that she used her position in New York State government to act as an unregistered agent of China and the Chinese Communist Party, according to an indictment.

The superseding indictment, unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn Tuesday, adds allegations of bribery and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act to a money laundering conspiracy charge against Linda Sun, the former deputy chief of staff to Hochul, and three counts of money laundering against her husband Chris Hu.

The new charges cite three $500,000 bank transactions, totaling $1.5 million, that Hu made in 2020, according to the indictment.

Both defendants entered pleas of not guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan.

Sun’s attorney, Jarrod L. Schaeffer, reached after Tuesday’s arraignment via email, said: "The superseding indictment does not remedy critical errors identified in the prior indictment or undermine any arguments in the motion to dismiss that was filed."

Hu’s attorney, Seth DuCharme, declined to comment Tuesday.

Prosecutors have alleged the pair laundered millions of dollars in proceeds from Chinese government officials to buy their $4 million Manhasset mansion and a 2024 Ferrari.

Sun's family also received perks as part of the scheme, prosecutors alleged. Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef were delivered to the residence of Sun’s parents, prosecutors have said.

Sun, 40, is charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy, prosecutors said. Hu, 42, is charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of identification, prosecutors have said.

Sun is free on a $1.5 million bond while Hu is free on a $500,000 bond.

Prosecutors have alleged that the couple’s $4.1 million Manhasset home was purchased with proceeds of their alleged illegal activity.

Sun and Hu bought the home in 2021 for $3.55 million, Newsday has reported, according to real estate records.

Hochul press secretary Avi Small said previously that Sun was hired before Hochul became governor and was later fired.

 "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," Small said then. 

Sun took several actions at the request of Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party officials, including blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and later Hochul, in order to not anger the Chinese government, which does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country.

Neither governor is named in the indictment, with Cuomo referred to as "Politician-1" and Hochul as "Politician-2," but the details and dates exactly mirror their administrations.

Sun also allegedly obtained official New York State proclamations for Chinese government representatives without proper authorization, attempted to facilitate a trip to China by a high-level New York State politician and arranged meetings for visiting delegations from the Chinese government with New York State government officials, federal prosecutors have alleged.

Sun also repeatedly violated New York State government rules and protocols by allegedly providing unauthorized invitation letters from the office of high-level New York State government officials that were used to plan travel by Chinese government officials to the United States in order to conduct meetings with the officials, prosecutors have said.

Sun was never registered as a foreign agent with the U.S. attorney general, as required by federal law, prosecutors have said.

Sun received millions of dollars in transactions for her husband's China-based business activities in exchange for her alleged interventions, prosecutors have said.

Hu allegedly laundered proceeds from the scheme through bank accounts opened in the name of a close relative by fraudulently using an image of the relative's driver's license, prosecutors have said.

Sun joined the Cuomo administration in 2012 as a liaison to minority communities.

She later worked at Empire State Development, the privately run state economic development arm.

She returned to state government as a deputy diversity officer and later worked at the Department of Financial Services.

When Hochul became governor in 2021, Sun was hired as a deputy chief of staff but she left in September 2022 and joined the state Department of Labor.

The indictment said Sun was terminated from the labor department in March 2023, but she allegedly continued to attend meetings and represent herself as a current state employee.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.