A senior New York state government official allegedly quietly assisted the Chinese government in obtaining an official visit about Covid-19 while leading a luxurious life as an undercover agent for Beijing, according to a US prosecution.
Linda Sun rose through the ranks to become the governor’s deputy chief of staff over a period of about 14 times.
Federal prosecutors claim that the 41-year-old used her place to help Chinese officials, including preventing Chinese diplomats from speaking with the state government and secretly sharing interior documents with Beijing.
In exchange, China allegedly gave Ms Sun and her husband, Christopher Hu, millions of dollars in kickbacks that enabled them to purchase a$ 4.1 million ( £3.1 million ) home in New York as well as perks like special salted duck deliveries.
They also bought a$ 2.1m ocean-view condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii, and luxury vehicles including a 2024 Ferrari Roma sports car, according to the indictment.
On Tuesday, the couple entered a not-guilty plea in a Brooklyn federal court on charges ranging from false registration as a foreign adviser to money laundering and card fraud.
People who represent or represent foreign nations or political parties must register as foreign agents under US laws.
Ms Sun not did- and, according to prosecutors, the Chinese-born naturalised member “actively concealed that she took actions at the buy, demand, or way” of Taiwanese government officials and representatives.
Ms. Sun supposedly discovered ways for Chinese judicial officials to access New York leaders as the Covid-19 pandemic spread throughout the state in 2020.
According to prosecutors, she allegedly added a Chinese standard to a private state government contact about the virus’s public health response in one instance.
Previous New York attorney Howard Master told the BBC that the allegations “disturbing” are related to older people leaders, including former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, who have been dishonestly receiving gifts from international governments.
Ms. Sun is accused of conspiring on numerous occasions to stop Japanese representatives from speaking with or meeting senior US government officials.
After properly diverting a leading New York lawmaker from an event hosted by Taiwan, Ms. Sun is said to have bragged in a 2016 information to a Chinese judicial official that “it’s all been taken care of satisfactorily.”
Also pictured accompanying a pro-Beijing rally in New York City when the region’s president visited in 2019 was the island’s president.
Up until January 2021, she worked behind the scenes to brush mentions of Beijing’s confinement of Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim ethnic group in Xinjiang Province.
Ms. Sun inquired about the governor’s ability to make a Lunar New Year picture when Chinese authorities inquired about their “talking points.”
” Mostly vacation wishes and desire for companionship and co-operation”, the Taiwanese authorities wrote. ” Nothing overly political”.
Ms Sun after told another Chinese standard that she had argued with Ms Hochul’s staffer to get a mention of the” Uyghur position” removed from a review of the president’s notes.
Ms. Sun obtained a illustrated national Lunar New Year statement from Governor Kathy Hochul and presented it to a Chinese national while working in the New York labor department in 2023.
Even without Ms. Hochul’s office’s approval, the statement was made outside of regular programs.
Additionally, Ms. Sun wrote an illegal letter of work to put a fellow citizen to the New York governor’s Asian American advisory council and wrote false invitations to Taiwanese politicians to travel to the US.
In return, Ms Sun and Mr Hu “received substantial economic and other benefits from]Beijing ] representatives”, prosecutors say.
The gifts included all-expenses-paid go to China, tickets to major shows, concerts and sporting events, jobs in China for Ms Sun’s aunt, and home deliveries of Nanjing-style salt ducks prepared by a Taiwanese government official’s private chef.
According to the indictment, the duck delicacy was gifted to Ms Sun- and sent directly to her parents ‘ home- on at least 16 different occasions.
On Tuesday morning, federal agents entered the couple’s Long Island home and detained them on 10 criminal counts.
Her lawyer, Jarrod Schaeffer, was quoted by AP news agency as saying:” We’re looking forward to addressing these charges in court. Our client is understandably upset that these allegations have been made.
A judge set the pair on bail, limiting their travel to three US states, and ordering Ms. Sun to stay away from any communication with Chinese consulate or mission in New York.