Former New York governor’s aide Linda Sun faces millions in fraud charges after exploiting her position to profit from pandemic-era PPE contracts while simultaneously acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government.
Key Takeaways
- Linda Sun, who served under Governors Cuomo and Hochul, has been indicted for orchestrating a scheme that steered $44 million in COVID-19 PPE contracts to businesses connected to her family.
- Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, allegedly received $2.3 million in kickbacks from these pandemic procurement deals while exploiting critical supply shortages.
- The couple was already facing earlier charges of acting as illicit agents for the Chinese government, using Sun’s official positions to advance Beijing’s interests.
- Sun allegedly forged documents claiming Chinese contacts recommended two companies linked to her and her husband, then helped direct state contracts to these entities.
- The couple reportedly used their ill-gotten gains to purchase multimillion-dollar properties and luxury vehicles.
COVID Profiteering Scheme Exposed
A federal grand jury has delivered damning new fraud charges against Linda Sun, escalating the legal troubles for the former aide to New York Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul. The superseding indictment, unsealed on June 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, details how Sun allegedly exploited her position during the COVID-19 pandemic when critical medical supplies were desperately needed. Sun is accused of manipulating state procurement procedures to funnel lucrative contracts to businesses with connections to her family, allowing her and her husband to reap substantial financial benefits during a national emergency.
“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,” Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr.
Double Agent Allegations Compound Legal Troubles
The new charges represent just one dimension of Sun’s mounting legal problems. She and her husband were already facing serious accusations of operating as unregistered agents for the Chinese government. According to federal prosecutors, Sun used her various state positions to systematically advance Chinese government interests while reaping financial benefits for herself and her husband. The influence operation allegedly extended to suppressing mentions of Chinese human rights abuses in New York state communications, effectively using her government position to shield a foreign adversary from criticism while collecting a taxpayer-funded salary.
“Linda Sun, former aide to both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is facing fraud charges on top of previous accusations of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese regime.”
Falsified Documents and Pandemic Profiteering
The latest indictment provides disturbing details about how Sun allegedly manipulated New York’s desperate search for personal protective equipment during the early pandemic. According to prosecutors, she used her connections in China to help New York obtain PPE, but simultaneously engaged in document forgery to falsely claim that Chinese contacts had recommended two companies linked to her and her husband. This deception allegedly led New York’s government to pay over $44 million to these companies, with approximately $2.3 million ultimately funneled back to Sun’s husband, Chris Hu.
The scheme went undetected for some time until Hochul’s administration reported “discovering evidence of misconduct,” according to the Associated Press. Sun was subsequently fired from her government position in 2023 as the investigation intensified.
Lavish Lifestyle Funded by Taxpayers
Federal authorities allege that Sun and Hu leveraged their illicit income to fund an extravagant lifestyle far beyond what their legitimate employment could support. The couple allegedly purchased multimillion-dollar properties and luxury vehicles with the proceeds from their fraudulent activities. This lavish spending pattern appears to have contributed to drawing attention to their financial activities, ultimately helping investigators connect the dots between their government connections and unexplained wealth accumulation during a time of national crisis.
Sun’s defense team has strongly contested the allegations. “The newest allegations continue the government’s trend of making and publicizing feverish accusations unmoored from the facts and evidence that we expect will come out at trial,” said attorney Jarrod Schaeffer. However, the extensive documentation in the federal indictment paints a picture of systemic corruption involving pandemic resources, taxpayer funds, and potential foreign influence operations within the highest levels of New York state government.
