Breaking: Chinese United Front staffer influence reached into New York governors office

US indictment depicts a long-term, covert influence operation by Chinese officials and United Front Work Department groups

Linda Sun, center, rallies against Taiwan with New York community group leaders in 2019. Source: US Department of Justice filing

In a bombshell 64-page indictment, U.S. prosecutors allege that Linda Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China and former aide to two New York Governors—Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo—covertly spied for China while manipulating key New York politicians to favor Beijing. The indictment also accuses Sun of blocking Taiwanese officials from meeting state leaders and facilitating unauthorized meetings for Chinese officials.

In another stunning allegation, Sun reportedly allowed a Chinese official to join a private New York State government conference call discussing the COVID-19 pandemic response, granting Beijing direct access to sensitive information.

The case depicts a long-term, covert influence operation by Chinese officials and United Front Work Department groups, a key tool used by the Chinese Communist Party to influence global elites and secure advantages for Beijing.

It also suggests that Sun used several positions serving as a “chief diversity officer” and leader for the state’s Asian American advisory council to push her schemes.

And as a political aide identified as valuable to Beijing’s influence in New York, Sun was secretly appointed to a United Front body in 2019 “used to influence overseas Chinese,” but failed to disclose her position to the U.S. government.

Linda Sun is pictured at a meeting in Beijing in 2019, where she was secretly made an official in a United Front overseas influence organization.

In return for her actions, Sun, also known as Wen Sun, and her husband, Chris Hu, allegedly received substantial benefits from the Chinese government, including millions of dollars for Hu’s businesses and funds used to buy real estate, luxury vehicles including a 2024 Ferrari Roma, and also personal favors like event tickets and travel arrangements.

The indictment also describes complex schemes involving collusion and money laundering, echoing allegations in recent censored Canadian government reports regarding China’s election interference efforts.

In another notable comparison to Canada, the indictment points to circumstances analyzed by The Bureau in open-source records, in which a staffer for former Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido was photographed in 2019 attending a rally against pro-democracy community members in Vancouver.

According to the New York indictment, in July 2019, Linda Sun and “various leaders of local Chinese associations participated in a protest in Manhattan against the Taiwanese President’s visit to New York City.”

Some of the most shocking allegations against Sun accuse her of visa fraud, illegally facilitating the entry of PRC officials into the U.S. by falsifying documents and laundering the proceeds she earned from her alleged state-sponsored crimes through financial transactions to purchase luxury assets.

Sun, who served in various high-ranking positions in New York State government from 2012 to 2023, including as the Director of External Affairs for Empire State Development and Deputy Chief of Staff in the Executive Chamber, allegedly used her positions to covertly sway political messaging in favor of Beijing.

The indictment claims Sun’s influence reached as high as New York’s governor’s office, where she allegedly worked to change official statements and actions on sensitive issues like Taiwan, aligning them with PRC directives.

In another example of far-reaching influence, Sun is accused of blocking a meeting between a Taiwanese official and a senior New York politician.

According to the indictment, Sun incriminated herself by boasting on WeChat about her success in preventing Taiwanese diplomats from gaining an audience with state leaders.

“SUN bragged that she had successfully prevented Taipei Economic and Cultural Office from meeting with Politician-1 and Politician-2,” the indictment says. “In return for these and other acts, the PRC Consulate provided SUN and her family with gifts, including tickets to shows, concerts, and events, as well as salted ducks prepared by PRC Official-1’s personal chef.”

The indictment describes one of Sun’s alleged acts of international interference, where she texted a Chinese official in June 2016: “Just FYI for you, the Taipei economic office is trying to secure [Politician-2] for an event in DC during Select USA. They sent the invitation to another colleague trying to bypass me. I am working on it right now to resolve the issue.”

When an unidentified PRC Consular official responded, “Thank you for letting me know,” the indictment says Sun wrote back, reassuring the Chinese official that, “It’s all been taken care of satisfactorily.”

Central to the alleged influence schemes were Chinese United Front groups directed from the highest levels in Beijing, which, with Sun’s assistance, orchestrated visits by PRC delegations to New York using falsified invitation letters and other fraudulent documents to secure U.S. visas.

“The United Front Work Department was a CCP department that attempted to manage relationships with and generate support for the CCP among elite individuals inside and outside the PRC, including by gathering human intelligence,” the indictment says. “After 2018, the UFWD reported directly to the CCP’s Central Committee, a national party organization that helped drive political decision-making in the PRC.”

Sun’s husband Hu, who operated several business ventures in New York, including a seafood export company and a financial consultancy, reportedly reaped the rewards of Sun’s influence activities.

The indictment claims that Hu’s businesses received millions of dollars in transactions facilitated by PRC officials, which were then laundered through U.S. bank accounts and used to purchase luxury real estate, including a $3.5 million home in Long Island and a $1.9 million condominium in Honolulu.

Suspicions about Sun’s activities first surfaced in July when the New York Times reported that FBI agents had raided her Long Island home.

The raid was part of a broader investigation into foreign influence operations targeting U.S. politicians and institutions. According to the indictment, federal agents uncovered extensive evidence of Sun’s covert dealings with PRC officials, leading to her indictment on multiple charges, including acting as an unregistered foreign agent, visa fraud, and money laundering.

As the case proceeds, it highlights growing concerns about foreign influence in U.S. politics, marking a consequential escalation in the U.S. government’s efforts to counter Chinese influence operations. If convicted, Sun and her husband face the prospect of lengthy prison sentences and substantial financial penalties, including the forfeiture of their luxury assets.

sam@thebureau.news