Manhasset resident Linda Sun, former aide to Cuomo and Hochul, pleads not guilty in new indictment

The former gubernatorial aide from Long Island accused of acting as an unregistered agent of China pleaded not guilty Monday to new charges accusing her of steering state contracts for crucial coronavirus supplies to companies owned by her associates during the COVID-19 pandemic, and receiving millions of dollars in return.

Linda Sun, 41, a former aide to Govs. Kathy Hochul and Andrew M. Cuomo, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, were both arraigned Monday morning on charges of honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with the alleged scheme involving personal protective equipment (PPE), according to a newly released superseding indictment. Hu is also charged with tax evasion.

Both pleaded not guilty to the charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo in federal court in Brooklyn.

Defense attorneys for Sun and Hu last week accused the government's prosecutors of "scrambling" to develop new theories in support of the charges. The attorneys left court with their clients Monday without commenting.

The couple is scheduled to go on trial in November. Both have previously pleaded not guilty to charges connected to allegations that Sun took actions as a New York State employee at the request of the Chinese government and both Sun and Hu laundered millions of dollars in proceeds in exchange for the actions.

Prosecutors have said Sun's alleged actions at the request of the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party officials included preventing representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and later Gov. Kathy Hochul, in an effort to not anger the Chinese government. Beijing does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country. 

Sun, who worked in the Cuomo and Hochul administrations, also allegedly obtained official New York State proclamations for Chinese government representatives without proper authorization, attempted to facilitate a trip to China by a high-level New York State politician and arranged meetings for visiting delegations from the Chinese government with New York State government officials, prosecutors have said. 

The couple allegedly purchased a $4 million Manhasset mansion and a 2024 Ferrari, among other items, with the proceeds, prosecutors have said. Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef, another alleged perk from the scheme, were delivered to the residence of Sun’s parents, prosecutors have said.

Sun also allegedly violated New York State government rules and protocols by allegedly providing unauthorized invitation letters from the office of high-level state government officials that were used to plan travel by Chinese government officials to the United States in order to conduct meetings with the officials, prosecutors have said.

Sun was never registered as a foreign agent with the U.S. attorney general, as required by federal law, prosecutors have said.

Sun began her career in state government in 2012, working as a liaison to communities of color. She went on to work at the Empire State Development, the privately run state economic development arm, before returning to state government as a deputy diversity officer and later worked at the Department of Financial Services.

Sun was hired as a deputy chief of staff in the Hochul administration in 2021, but she left in September 2022 and joined the state Department of Labor. She was fired from the post in March 2023, after officials said "misconduct" was uncovered. 

Prosecutors have said even after she was terminated, she continued to represent herself publicly as a current state employee.

In the new indictment, prosecutors alleged that Sun, who was part of a team of state government employees tasked with purchasing personal protective equipment, steered the purchase of PPE from two vendors — the Cousin Company, operated by one of Sun's second cousins, and the Associate Company, operated by Hu and one of Hu’s business associates.

Hu and Sun were paid $2.3 million in kickbacks from the Cousin Company, prosecutors have said. Hu did not report the payments on his taxes, they said.

Sun remains free on a $1.5 million bond and Hu on a $500,000 bond.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.