Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Brooklyn jury weighs charges that ex-NY aide acted as unregistered Chinese agent
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Dec 10, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Dec 10, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A former top aide to Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul was China’s “woman in New York state government,” prosecutors said this week during the closing arguments in her criminal trial in Brooklyn federal court.
“Linda Sun betrayed the state of New York to enrich herself,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Solomon told jurors Tuesday. “She did the bidding of the Chinese government so that she and her husband, Chris Hu, could get rich.”
The case against Sun carries international political implications that an unregistered foreign agent worked within the offices of two Democratic governors to advance policy favorable to the Chinese government. She faces charges of being an unregistered foreign agent for China, as well as wire fraud, visa fraud and money laundering. Hu faces charges of helping launder bribes through his various businesses and bank accounts. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Thursday.
Sun’s defense attorneys said the prosecution’s case was no more than a “hodgepodge of accusations.”
In his closing arguments, attorney Kenneth Abell compared the government’s case to a “movie plot” that “doesn’t hold together.” While he acknowledged Sun may have made some mistakes, “she did not commit a crime.”
Prosecutors say Sun performed tasks in service of the Chinese government and the ruling Communist Party. They argue Sun “single-handedly” blocked a meeting between Cuomo and the president of Taiwan, secretly added a Chinese official to a private government conference call, and forged Hochul’s signature as part of a visa application for a visiting Chinese delegation.
In exchange, prosecutors say Sun received gifts like millions of dollars in secret payments and Nanjing salted ducks. Prosecutors say Hu laundered the money through his Queens lobster exporting business and routed $1.5 million in kickbacks through an account he’d set up in Sun’s mother’s name.
Prosecutors showed jurors an image of Sun’s seized cellphone case, which they said illustrated her mindset. The back of the case, decorated with cartoon animals, reads “Get rich, good luck.”
Defense attorneys argued Sun’s actions were in line with her job to serve as a liaison between the Asian American community and the state government. They say her advice to steer clear of issues regarding Taiwan and mainland China was consistent with U.S. foreign policy.
Abell said the government did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the money flowing into Hu’s lobster exporting business was related to Sun’s work, rather than legitimate income.
“It’s not illegal to have money,” Abell said. “It’s not illegal to spend it.”
Abell also disputed the prosecution's claim that Sun forged Hochul’s signature on an invitation to a visiting Chinese delegation. While Hochul’s former Chief of Staff Jeff Lewis testified he did not believe the signature looked like hers, the governor herself did not testify at trial.
Hu’s defense attorney Nicole Boeckmann told jurors the government is asking them “to take the shadow for the substance.”
“The government has fallen short,” she said. “And your job is to make sure that justice is served.”
Tagged
Politics
new york state
public safety
Walter Wuthmann
Walter Wuthmann is a reporter covering public safety and the legal system.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .