Inside the Lavish Life of a Former New York State Official Accused of Being a Secret Chinese Agent

$3.5 Million Mansion on Long Island. $2.1 Million “Oceanfront Condo” in Honolulu. Brand New 2024 Ferrari.

And more than a dozen Nanking-style salted ducks, personally prepared by a Chinese government official’s private chef.

Those are just some of the luxuries Linda Sun, former top aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and her husband Chris Hu received for allegedly betraying their country to China, prosecutors alleged in court papers Tuesday.

According to the indictment, Sun also received millions of dollars in transactions related to her husband’s business activities in China, work for her cousin in China, and tickets to various sporting and cultural events, including a performance by the Guangzhou Ballet at Lincoln Center and the Chinese National Traditional Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, both in Manhattan.

“As alleged, while ostensibly serving the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff in the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband were in fact working to advance the interests of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York said in a statement, using the initials of the Chinese Communist Party. “This illegal scheme enriched the defendant’s family by millions of dollars.”

As for the salted ducks, a delicacy made from a recipe dating back to the 14th century, an unnamed People’s Republic of China (PRC) official ordered them “delivered to Sun’s parents’ residence,” the Justice Department revealed in both a press release and an indictment detailing the charges against the couple.

According to the indictment, the first shipment of six ducks occurred “on or about July 28, 2021.”

Six more ducks were delivered “on or about November 23, 2021,” the indictment said. And two more salted ducks were delivered in 2022.

In addition, a PRC official invited Sun and her family to his home for dinner on at least one occasion.

At this point, the couple found themselves in the crosshairs of federal investigators.

Sun had previously participated in a “voluntary interview” with FBI agents in July 2020, where, according to the indictment, she “misrepresented the purpose of one of her trips to the People’s Republic of China and concealed the fact that it was organized and financed by co-conspirators representing the PRC government and the Chinese Communist Party.”

Sun, 41, was charged Tuesday with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering.

Prosecutors said Sun used her senior government position to serve the interests of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party in exchange for millions of dollars.

Hu, 40, has been charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of identifying means. He allegedly laundered millions through bank accounts opened in the name of a close relative.

Prosecutors say Hu illegally used a photo of his relative’s driver’s license to open the accounts.

Both pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon. Sun was set to be released on $1.5 million bail and her husband on $500,000 bail.

Sun is represented by attorneys Ken Abell and Jarrod Schaeffer.

“We are disappointed with the filing of these charges, which are provocative and appear to be the result of overly aggressive prosecution,” the attorneys said in a statement. “Our client is eager to exercise her right to a speedy trial and defend herself against these charges in the proper forum—a court of law.”

Sun’s husband is represented by attorneys Seth DuCharme and Nicole Boeckmann. NBC reached out to them for comment on the charges, which could send Hu to prison for years, but there was no immediate response.

In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told a regular briefing Wednesday that she was not aware of the arrests and declined to comment on what she called “U.S. domestic affairs.”

“However, we oppose any malicious attempt to incriminate, slander or defame China,” Mao Ning said.

Sun had been on the New York state payroll for about 15 years, holding positions in then-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration before becoming Hochul’s deputy chief of staff.

In 2021, Sun and Hu went on a shopping spree, buying both a mansion in a gated community in Manhasset, Long Island, that is now worth about $4.05 million, and a penthouse in Honolulu that is “currently valued at approximately $2.1 million,” the indictment said.

“No mortgage loans were taken out in connection with these acquisitions,” prosecutors charged in court documents.

The couple bought the properties after Hu received a series of wire transfers totaling more than $2.1 million from a PRC account, prosecutors said. And Sun “failed to report the property acquisitions in her financial statements as she was required to do.”

According to the indictment, in 2020, while Sun was house-hunting on Long Island, a worried — and unnamed — relative expressed concern that “people would wonder” how she could afford to buy the pricey property.

“Mortgage,” Sun reportedly replied.

In fact, according to the indictment, while the couple bought real estate and fast cars, “their personal and business tax returns showed little or no income.”

Hu ran a seafood business and a wine shop in Queens that weren’t generating much money.

However, in addition to the Ferrari, Hu also had a 2024 Range Rover/L460 and a 2022 Mercedes GLB250W4 at his disposal, according to court documents.

Now the homes, cars, about $210,000 in cash, as well as money from various other accounts that Hu allegedly controlled, are in the hands of federal prosecutors.