A former aide to two New York governors has been charged with spying on behalf of the Chinese government.
Linda Sun held numerous posts within the New York state government, including deputy chief of staff for governor Kathy Hochul, and deputy diversity officer for former governor Andrew Cuomo.
She was arrested on Tuesday morning, along with her husband Chris Hu, at their $4m (£3m) home on Long Island.
Sun is accused of using her positions and influence to subtly advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for millions of dollars.
At the request of Chinese officials, among other things, Sun blocked representatives of the Taiwanese government from accessing the governor’s office, and shaped New York government messaging to align with China’s priorities, prosecutors allege.
In return for her work, her husband Hu received help for his business activities in China, the indictment said.
This was in the form of a financial boost that, prosecutors said, allowed the couple to buy their multimillion-dollar home, a second property in Hawaii worth $1.9m (£1.45m), as well as luxury cars including a 2024 Ferrari.
Sun also received smaller gifts, including tickets to performances by a visiting Chinese orchestra and ballet groups, the indictment alleges.
If true, the allegations would show that China was able to gain influence at the highest levels of New York state government for almost a decade.
“As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as deputy chief of staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP (Communist Party of China),” said Breon Peace, a lawyer for the Eastern District of New York.
“The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”
Among the allegations in the indictment, Sun is accused of working to ensure the “Uyghur situation” in China was not mentioned in a Lunar New Year video that Chinese officials had requested from the then-governor of New York in January 2021.
Both Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance on Tuesday afternoon and were released on bail.
Sun has been barred from having any contact with the People’s Republic of China’s consulate and mission.
Her lawyer, Jarrod Schaeffer, said: “We’re looking forward to addressing these charges in court. Our client is understandably upset that these charges have been brought.”
‘A betrayal of trust’
The case is part of a broader effort from the US federal government to root out Chinese agents operating in the country.
Sun, a US citizen born in China, was sacked from Ms Hochul’s office after the discovery of “evidence of misconduct”, a spokesperson for the administration said.
The New York governor later told local radio station WNYC that she was “furious”, “outraged”, and “absolutely shocked at how brazen her behaviour was”.
Ms Hochul said of the allegations against Sun: “It was a betrayal of trust – the trust of government, the trust of the people.
“And I’ll tell you this, the second we discovered some levels of misconduct, we fired her, we alerted the authorities, and hence we ended up with what happened here today.
“So, we’ve been working with the Department of Justice in this investigation, and we’ll continue to make sure that all the information that’s out there is revealed, and that you know, justice is served. This is absolutely shocking.”
A spokesperson for Mr Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, downplayed Sun’s reach in his administration.
The FBI searched the couple’s home in late July but declined to release details at the time.
Mao Ning, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said he was “not aware of the situation” and that he would not comment on “domestic cases of the United States”.
