Hochul’s ex-aide accused of working as Chinese foreign agent faces new bribery charges

A former top aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo who allegedly worked as a Chinese foreign agent was hit with more federal charges Wednesday tied to a COVID-era kickback scheme worth millions.

Linda Sun and husband Chris Hu allegedly made off with as much as $8 million in the wide-scale fraud after she facilitated multiple contracts between New York state and two Chinese-based vendors for pandemic equipment, according to the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

One of the companies was run by Hu, 40, and his business partner, and the other was operated by Sun’s second cousin, but the staffer never disclosed the personal ties, according to prosecutors.

Sun, 41, even allegedly doctored documents that showed the two companies were recommended by Chinese officials. Her husband is accused of keeping track of the expected ill-gotten proceeds on a spreadsheet under the title “Me.”

US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella assailed Sun, of Manhasset, for enriching herself when the state “was at its most vulnerable at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“When masks, gloves, and other protective supplies were hard to find, Sun abused her position of trust to steer contracts to her associates so that she and her husband could share in the profits,” he said in a statement.

A lawyer for Sun said his client “vehemently denied” Thursday’s charges.

“The newest allegations continue the government’s trend of making and publicizing feverish accusations unmoored from the facts and evidence that we expect will actually come out at trial,” said attorney Jarrod L. Schaeffer.

When the pandemic first engulfed New York, Sun was part of a group of officials tasked with obtaining personal protective equipment and used her influence to work with the Chinese government to get the much-needed items.

The Jiangsu Department of Commerce recommended four Chinese vendors to state officials for supplies on March 20, but Sun allegedly meddled with the document by replacing the first suggested business with her cousin’s company, prosecutors said.

She also allegedly inserted wording that claimed her relative’s company’s surgical masks were “the gold standard” in the altered email.

She helped her hubby’s company by claiming in a state document it was referred to by the “Chinese chamber of commerce,” the feds alleged.

The cousin’s company funneled $2.3 million in 2020 and 2021 in kickbacks to the indicted couple, according to a spreadsheet kept on their personal computer, according to prosecutors.

The spreadsheet kept by Hu estimated the couple expected to clinch $8.02 million from the two companies and alleged plot, prosecutors said.

“This alleged scheme not only created an unearned and undisclosed benefit for the defendants and their relatives, but it also exploited the state’s critical need for resources in a health crisis,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia said in a statement.

Sun was arrested and initially charged in September with acting as a foreign agent to discreetly push Chinese interests in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes and other fancy perks like salted ducks.

Hu was also arrested the same time as his wife and accused of laundering money by opening bank accounts in the name of a close relative, even though it was for his own use.

The new charges against the couple include honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and bribery.

They also face conspiracy to defraud the United States because the federal government doled out COVID funds to the state and Hu was slapped with a tax evasion charge because he allegedly didn’t report the corrupt payments on his income taxes.  

Hochul’s office previously said Sun was terminated in 2023 when allegations of misconduct first surfaced.

The arraignment for new charges against Sun and Hu are scheduled for Monday.

A lawyer for Hu didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.