Linda Sun allegedly forged Hochul signature for Chinese government
A former chief aide of New York Governor Kathy Hochul forged her signature on behalf of the Chinese government, prosecutors have alleged.
Prosecutors said Linda Sun, who was born in China, influenced New York politics at the highest level and allegedly reported back to the Chinese government. She is alleged to have forged Hochul's signature to make it easier for a Chinese Communist Party delegation to come to New York and to have a face-to-face meeting with Hochul.
On Wednesday, Hochul expressed her outrage and shock at the news and said she had sought the dismissal of China's former New York consul general for his alleged role in running Sun as an agent inside Hochul's government.
"Lying and misleading these administrations, breaking our ethics rules, and even forging my signature on documents. But even more importantly, this is a betrayal of New Yorkers and the American people," Hochul said during a Manhattan press conference on Wednesday.
She also said that the FBI had asked her to confirm that the signature was fake.
"They asked me one question. I'm not able to talk about it, but it had to do with identifying whether something was my signature and that was it," she said.
Newsweek sought email comment from Hochul's office, China's New York consulate and Sun's attorney on Thursday.
Much of Sun's undercover work was directed by China's New York consulate, the indictment alleges. It states that in the spring of 2018, one consul official tasked Sun with arranging for a Communist Party delegation from Henan Province, China, to travel to the United States and meet with Hochul.
On the evening of March 18, 2018, following a dinner event to which the consul official and Sun were both invited, the consul official provided Sun with a list of Hunan delegation members and an English-language document called "Reference of Invitation Letter" for Hochul's signature.
On March 29 and April 5, 2018, Sun allegedly provided the official with two versions of an invitation letter from the governor's office that Sun had created.
"Sun had relied on language from a previously authorized invitation letter for a delegation from Jiangxi Province. Sun lacked authorization to either issue or sign any new invitation letters," the indictment states.
"Further, the letter drafted by Sun for [the Chinese consul official] was signed by hand with a falsified version" of Hochul's signature and Sun did not have authorization to sign documents on Hochul's behalf, the indictment adds.
Sun held roles in New York state government as Hochul's deputy chief of staff and as the chief diversity officer for former Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services.
On Tuesday, the FBI arrested Sun and her husband, Christopher Hu, at their multimillion-dollar home on Long Island. Prosecutors said Sun earned millions from her illegal interference in U.S. politics.
The Chinese government allegedly paid Sun and Hu millions to influence New York politics, secretly funneling money to the couple to buy a 2024 Ferrari, an apartment in Hawaii and their five-bedroom house on Long Island, which the FBI raided in July.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the kickbacks included "the facilitation of millions of dollars in transactions" for Hu's business activities in the People's Republic of China, "travel benefits, tickets to events, [and] promotion of a close family friend's business."
"Sun and Hu laundered the monetary proceeds of this scheme to purchase, among other items, real estate property in Manhasset, New York currently valued at $4.1 million, a condominium in Honolulu, Hawaii currently valued at $2.1 million, and various luxury automobiles, including a 2024 Ferrari," the Justice Department said in a news release.
According to the Justice Department, another kickback came in the form of "Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a PRC government official's personal chef that were delivered to the residence of Sun's parents."
As Cuomo's chief diversity officer, Sun was the face of diversity, equity and inclusion in New York. However, according to the Justice Department, Sun silenced voices in the U.S. speaking out for China's Muslim Uyghur minority, whom the Chinese government has long been accused of oppressing.
According to the indictment, Sun reported to a Chinese government official that she had argued with Hochul's speechwriter, who had insisted that the governor mention the "Uyghur situation" in China in the governor's Chinese New Year message. She said she was starting to lose her temper with the speechwriter.
In the end, Hochul's speech contained no mention of Uyghurs, and the Chinese Consulate in New York posted her message on its Facebook page.
