Ex-top NY gov aide and accused secret Chinese agent toted ‘Get rich, good luck’ phone case: feds
A woman who once worked for New York’s top governors is accused of turning her inside knowledge into a cash‑making machine for Beijing. According to federal prosecutors, the 42‑year‑old leveraged her roles under Governor Kathy Hochul and former Governor Andrew Cuomo—advancing China’s agenda as an unregistered agent in exchange for lavish perks. The FBI seized a red phone case emblazoned with cartoon animals that read “Get rich, good luck” during a 2024 raid on her Long Island home.
The prosecutor told a Brooklyn jury that Sun was driven by money, showing them a photo of the phone case. She’s charged with using her influence to secure contracts for Chinese interests and, along the way, snapping up a premium Hawaiian vacation house and a white Ferrari.
Evidence shows she bragged to New York’s Chinese Consulate about actions that favored China throughout her more than ten years in the state capitol. Prosecutors claim she once blocked a meeting between Taiwanese President Taiwan and Governor Cuomo in 2019, a move that upset the Chinese‑aligned officials. She also claims credit for removing references to Uyghurs—an ethnic group persecuted in China—from gubernatorial statements, and she quietly added a consulate official, Lihua “Helen” Li, to a government COVID‑19 conference call.
In 2021, Sun told Li that Hochul was “much more obedient” than Cuomo after she convinced the lieutenant governor to record a bizarre Lunar New Year video that named Li’s boss, Huang Ping. In return for these favors, her husband Chris Hu allegedly received millions from the Chinese government, turning their fledgling seafood export business into a profitable venture. This windfall enabled the couple to buy a $3.6 million home in Manhasset, a $2 million second residence in Hawaii, and a 2024 Ferrari Roma, among other luxury vehicles.
Sun also received other perks, such as free ballet tickets and a special salted duck dish prepared by Ping’s personal chef in the rare‑style version from Nanjing—her family’s hometown—according to evidence. She texted Ping on July 28, 2021, “I want to eat salted duck,” joking about a “China‑US Friendship Award.” She added, “I eat it as a midnight snack,” sending a licking‑lip emoji to emphasize her enjoyment.
Separately, Sun and Hu face charges for taking kickbacks and bribes, steering personal protective equipment contracts to a company owned by Sun’s cousin during the early pandemic, and forging Hochul’s signature on invitation letters that let Chinese dignitaries enter the United States. Prosecutor Alexander Solomon highlighted a repeating pattern of corruption during his closing remarks, telling jurors that “Linda Sun betrayed the State of New York to enrich herself.”
Sun rose through Albany ranks, eventually becoming deputy chief of staff in Hochul’s executive chamber before being fired in 2023 after an internal probe found she had issued fake state proclamations to her father and uncle. In a taped interview shown to the jury, a nervous former official—described as “sweaty and nervous”—questioned the legitimacy of those actions. Both Sun and Hu have pleaded not guilty, and their lawyers are slated to present closing arguments on Wednesday.
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