The trial of a former gubernatorial aide accused of participating in a scheme that resulted in her receiving illegal payouts is underway in Brooklyn federal court.
Linda Sun, a former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, and her husband, Chris Hu, are charged with multiple counts associated with an alleged scheme that netted them at least $2.3 million in kickbacks by exploiting Sun’s position in the Cuomo administration in 2020. At the time, Sun was involved in coordinating efforts to source personal protective equipment and ventilators from China as New York faced dire shortages during the Covid crisis.
“This is a case about betrayal and greed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Shami said in federal court when the trial opened Nov. 12, according to reports. “Betrayal by a public official, Linda Sun, who betrayed the State of New York. … And greed by her husband, Chris Hu, who exploited his wife’s high-level New York State job.”
Sun is also accused of funneling $35 million in New York state contracts to companies run by her husband and cousin during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a superseding indictment filed in June in Brooklyn federal court.
According to the indictment, Sun manipulated vendor recommendations from the Chinese government by fraudulently adding two companies, one run by a second cousin and another by Hu, to an official list of suggested suppliers. Federal prosecutors say she altered an email from a Chinese official on March 21, 2020, to falsely include her cousin’s mask business.
Sun, who was also an aide to Cuomo, pleaded not guilty to charges including violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, bank fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering, prosecutors said. Hu pleaded not guilty to money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of identification, prosecutors said.
Sun’s defense attorney, Jarrod L. Schaeffer, denied that Sun was working for China, according to prior reports.
“Nothing is going to show that Linda was working for China,” Schaeffer said.
Nicole Boeckmann, who represents Chris Hu, requested that the government not use the contents on a computer seized from the defendants’ home as evidence in a letter filed Nov. 16.
Boeckmann wrote that the computer’s contents were not “produced in a usable format” for the defense. She also said the defendants requested the court to direct the government to provide full witness interviews, investigative steps, and information about body cameras worn during searches and arrests.
Sun was previously charged in September 2024 with acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China, and accused of influencing New York State policy in exchange for bribes, gifts, and favors, including specially prepared salted duck dishes for her parents.
The original indictment included charges of conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy. Hu was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering, and misuse of means of identification.
The superseding indictment added counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion. The trial, originally set for July, was delayed due to issues involving classified materials.
