US Department of JusticeKathy Hochul, a former New York governor’s deputy chief of staff, has been accused of acting as a Chinese state agent.
Linda Sun, 41, “acted at the buy, manner, or demand” of Beijing in return for millions of dollars in kickbacks, unique home deliveries of salt duck and other perks, according to a national indictment.
Prosecutors say she and Christopher Hu, her father and co-defendant, used their ill-gotten profits to purchase real estate and pleasure cars.
On Tuesday, the pair entered a not-guilty plea in a federal court in Brooklyn.
Ms Sun was sacked nearly two years previously after the business of Ms Hochul, who became governor in 2021, discovered “evidence of misbehavior” and reported it to the government.
She and Mr. Hu are currently facing charges for money laundering crime, card fraud, and bringing in four illegal refugees.
According to the prosecution, Ms. Sun allegedly worked as an “unknown representative of the Chinese government” and that her husband “facilitated the move of millions of dollars in kickbacks for specific obtain.”
She is accused of preventing Taiwan’s government representatives from addressing New York leaders, authorizing Chinese government officials to write inane invitations to the US, formally changing state officials ‘ messaging about China, and even adding a Chinese official to a private state government conference phone about the Covid-19 public health response.
Christie Curtis, the acting associate director of the FBI, said Ms Sun “wielded her place… to secretly market” the Chinese plan, “directly threatening our country’s national protection”.
In return, lawyers say Ms Sun was given returns totalling millions of dollars. They were also given display tickets, go perks and meal including, according to the indictment, at least 16 meals of Nanjing-style salt goose prepared by a Chinese state representative’s personal restaurant and delivered to the home of Ms Sun’s parents.
According to the indictment, the few dumped large sums of money to purchase luxury items like a Ferrari and homes in Hawaii and New York.
” The illegal plan enriched the defendant’s home to the rhythm of millions of dollars”, said US Attorney Breon Peace.
According to the prosecution, Mr Hu operated many businesses in New York, including a seafood producer, a liquor store and a financial advisory, and often relied on the services of an approved freight agent of the Chinese government.
Getty ImagesMs. Sun, a naturalized US citizen born in China, has held numerous high-level positions in the state’s executive branch and state agencies since 2012, and has been her deputy chief of staff since then until she was fired in 2023.
According to the governor’s office, Ms. Sun was formerly employed by Andrew Cuomo’s previous administration, who resigned in August 2021 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
A spokesperson for the executive chamber told the BBC,” This individual was hired more than ten years ago.”
” We immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and provided assistance to law enforcement throughout this process, and we terminated her employment in March 2023 after we discovered misconduct.”
But a spokesperson for Mr Cuomo told WNYC local radio that Ms Sun “had little to no interaction” with the then-governor during his tenure, only to be promoted by the Hochul administration.
Ms Sun and Mr Hu were arrested on Tuesday morning at their$ 3.5m ( £2.7m ) Long Island gated-community home, roughly six weeks after the residence was raided as part of an FBI investigation.
Ms. Sun was told not to communicate with the Chinese consulate and mission in New York during court on Tuesday afternoon.
Additionally, Judge Brian Cogan ordered that the pair’s travel to be restricted to the states of Maine and New Hampshire, as well as New York City and the Long Island borough.
He released Ms Sun on a$ 1.5m bond and Mr Hu on a$ 500, 000 bond. Later this month, both parties will make a report to the judge.