A former senior aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with secretly working for years to help Chinese officials, giving them insights into the state government and advocating on their behalf.

Federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Linda Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, for allegedly illegal conduct dating back to her time as an aide to Cuomo, a Democrat who resigned the governorship in 2021 over unrelated issues about his personal conduct.

Linda Sun, and her husband, Christopher Hu, leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment on Tuesday in New York. They pleaded not guilty. Corey Sipkin/Associated Press

The indictment unsealed in Brooklyn federal court charges that Sun “acted as an undisclosed agent” of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party, for which she allegedly “engaged in numerous political activities… including blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the NYS governor’s office”; changing what the state said about issues China cared about; and “obtaining official NYS governor proclamations for (Chinese) government representatives without proper authorization.”

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the couple’s scheme made them millions of dollars. Authorities said they spent the money to buy a $4.1 million house in Manhasset, a $2.1 million condo in Honolulu and a number of luxury cars, including a 2024 Ferrari.

FBI Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis said Hu “facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain” while Sun “wielded her position of influence among executives to covertly promote” the agendas of the Chinese government and the CCP, “directly threatening our country’s national security.”

Sun is also accused of repeatedly violating New York state rules and procedures to provide improper benefits to Chinese representatives, including invitations that helped Chinese government officials travel to the U.S. to meet with state officials. Those invitations, authorities said, amounted to false statements made in connection with immigration documents.

Sun, 41, worked as the deputy chief diversity officer in Cuomo’s administration, from 2018 to 2020, and served as deputy chief of staff to Hochul from 2021 to 2022. Her husband, Hu, 40, operated a seafood business and a financial consulting firm; authorities said the couple received millions of dollars for his China-based business activities.

The indictment describes the lengths to which Sun allegedly went in order to aid Chinese officials. During the global pandemic, she surreptitiously put a Chinese official onto a private New York state government conference call about the health response to COVID and the state’s efforts to fight a rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans, the indictment charges.

Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn and will be released on bond. Sun has been barred from having any contact with the People’s Republic of China’s consulate and mission.