Linda Sun worked on deal bringing Chinese protective gear to New York during pandemic

ALBANY — The former aide to two governors accused of being an agent for China was part of a critical deal with the communist country to bring protective gear and ventilators to New York early during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Linda Sun, of Manhasset, was among those inside then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s executive chamber in early 2020 working on the deal, which resulted in the donation of much-needed masks, surgical gowns and ventilators to New York.

Later, the state was billed more than $700,000 by a company owned by a friend of Sun's husband that shipped the ventilators to the United States, according to federal records reviewed by Newsday.

On Tuesday, Sun was accused of working as an unregistered foreign agent for China in a scheme with her husband, Christopher Hu, to enrich themselves, according to the indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

In 2020, Sun was seen by co-workers as an ambitious 30-something with a political science degree from Barnard College and a master’s degree from Columbia University. Her roles included being the Asian outreach director for Cuomo and handling global business development.

A Cuomo spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The COVID-19 deal was struck between the Chinese government and the Cuomo administration in late March and early April of 2020, weeks after the virus began ravaging New York. Cuomo said at the time that he was seeking masks, shields and other protective gear from any source for front-line health care workers dealing with the growing crisis because stockpiles in the United States were insufficient.

Much of the supply was in China, where a good deal of the gear was manufactured. Soon, China offered the protective gear along with ventilators through several foundations.

On April 4, 2020, Cuomo publicly thanked all the corporations and organizations that donated supplies and equipment in a news release and his daily televised press briefings.

The release noted that the Joseph and Clara Tsai Foundation and the Jack Ma Foundation donated 1 million surgical masks, 1 million KN95 masks and more than 100,000 pairs of goggles. The Tsai Foundation also donated 1,000 ventilators. Joseph Tsai owns the Brooklyn Nets and the Long Island Nets.

“The Chinese government and Ambassador Huang Ping, Chinese counsel general, have facilitated these donations,” the governor’s news release said.

Around the same time, Chinese officials told Sun that several Chinese foundations would donate 1,000 ventilators to the Greater New York Hospital Association, according to the indictment, which does not disclose the names of the organizations.

"In early 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic ... Linda Sun was in frequent communication with the principals of the People’s Republic of China Consulate," the indictment states.

Sun "repeatedly asked" the China Consulate to promote a logistics company owned by a close friend and business associate of her husband that could transport the personal protection equipment from China to New York.

"Sun stated the company ... would provide free shipping services for shipments to epidemic areas and offered to provide free shipping services for other Chinese overseas associations," the indictment said.

A China official in an email was profuse in thanking Sun for making the deal.

As the pandemic raged, Sun found other ways for Chinese officials "to gain access to New York leaders addressing the pandemic," the indictment said. On March 16, 2020, for example, Sun secretly added a Chinese official onto a private state government conference call about the pandemic and rising anti-Asian violence, telling the Chinese official "keep your phone muted."

Afterward, the Chinese official said the call was "very useful," the indictment said.

Another time, Sun asked a Chinese official to publicly promote the company in China that "had provided the logistics arrangements for the donations of ventilators."

"Notably," the indictment said, the company "ultimately billed NYS government more than $700,000 for providing logistics services during the Spring and Summer of 2020."

At the time, Cuomo and his aides said a surprise bill, often for shipping expenses, on donated goods wasn’t uncommon during the hectic effort to provide protective gear and ventilators to hospitals.

The indictment also said a Chinese official asked Sun to take photographs when the goods arrived at hospitals.

Sun thanked the Chinese official for complimenting Sun’s work as "phenomenal" to top state officials, "which Sun stated would empower her to do more for" China, according to the indictment.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.