A former New York state government official who worked for Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hauckle was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of acting as an agent for the Chinese government.
Linda Sun, who served in the government from 2012 to 2023 and eventually became Hoekl's deputy chief of staff, was arrested with her husband, Chris Foo, at their $3.6 million Long Island home. The Associated Press reported.
In the indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York and made public on Tuesday, prosecutors said Sun acted as an anonymous agent of the government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.
Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York told The Hill. Sun is being held on $1.5 million bail and Hu on $500,000 bail. Their movements will be limited to New York City, Long Island, Maine and New Hampshire. Sun may not have any contact with the People's Republic of China.
According to the indictment, Sun engaged in “numerous political activities” for China's interests, including blocking Taiwanese government representatives' access to the Governor's Office, altering New York government messaging on issues important to China, and obtaining Governor's Office proclamations destined for China without proper authorization.
The indictment alleges that Sun violated internal rules by providing “improper benefits” to Chinese representatives, including letters that facilitated Chinese officials' illegal travel to the United States.
“In exchange for these and other activities, Defendant Linda Sun received substantial economic and other benefits from the Chinese government, including millions of dollars for her husband's business dealings in China, travel perks, event tickets, promotion of close friends' businesses, employment for her family members, and the cooking of 'Nanjing-style salt duck' by personal chefs for Chinese government officials,” according to the indictment.
Sun and her husband laundered the money to buy a $3.6 million home in New York, a $1.9 million condo in Hawaii and “various luxury vehicles.” She failed to disclose any of the benefits she received to the New York state government, as required by her public servant status, according to the indictment.
Neither Cuomo nor Horckle are named in the wide-ranging indictment. A spokesman for Horckle's office said Sun was hired by the state executive branch “more than a decade ago.”
“After discovering evidence of misconduct, we terminated her employment in March 2023, immediately reported her conduct to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process,” Hoekl's office said.
US Attorney Breon Peace said Sun and her husband “acted to advance the interests of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party,” according to the Associated Press.
“This illegal scheme enriched the defendants' families by millions of dollars,” Peace said.
