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A former aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an agent for the Chinese government, US Attorney Breon Peace announced on Tuesday.

Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to Hochul, was charged with violating or conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, human smuggling and money laundering, according to an unsealed copy of the indictment.

Her husband and co-defendant Chris Hu was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud, as well as misuse of identity documents, according to prosecutors.

According to sources, her home was searched by federal investigators in July.

According to prosecutors, Sun acted as “a secret agent of the Chinese government, while her husband Hu facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in bribes for personal gain.”

Sun and Hu were arrested at their Long Island home on Tuesday morning. The couple is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. CNN has contacted Sun and Hu’s attorneys.

Sun “was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago. We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reporting her actions to law enforcement, and assisting law enforcement throughout the process,” Hochul’s press secretary Avi Small said in a statement to CNN.

Allegations of unauthorized letters, money laundering and salted ducks from the PRC

According to court documents, Sun violated internal state government rules and protocols to gain benefits from the Chinese government.

According to prosecutors, Sun acted as a secret agent of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, among other things. She acted at their request and engaged in political activities to promote the interests of the CCP. This included “denying representatives of the Taiwanese government access to high-ranking officials of the State of New York.”

The indictment details how Sun attempted to obtain “unauthorized invitation letters” from the governor’s office, which were then used to allow Chinese government officials to enter the United States and meet with state officials in New York.

Sun’s unauthorized letters contained false information about immigration documents and “enticed the foreign nationals to enter the United States illegally,” prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors also allege that she attempted to “facilitate” a high-ranking, unnamed New York politician to travel to China.

Sun and her husband received “significant economic and other benefits,” including millions of dollars in transactions for Hu’s business activities in the PRC, travel perks, event tickets, employment for Sun’s cousin in the PRC, a shipment of “Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by the personal chef of a Chinese official” that was then delivered to Sun’s parents’ residence, and more, the indictment states.

They also laundered the proceeds to buy real estate in New York and Hawaii as well as various luxury cars, the indictment says.

Sun has held multiple government offices for more than a decade. Her public postings and Linkedin profile show that she has held positions in several agencies focused on New York’s economic development, the labor market, and the executive branch.

In 2009, Sun was hired as chief of staff in Assemblywoman Grace Meng’s office when she served in the state Assembly. In 2012, Sun was hired by former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration, who appointed her director of Asian American Affairs and representative from Queens. Sun then secured a position as director of external affairs at Empire State Development, which oversees economic development across the state.

In 2018, she was rehired by the Cuomo administration and named Chief Diversity Officer, a post she later left to take a job at the Department of Financial Services.

After Hochul ascended to the state’s highest office, Sun was hired as deputy chief of staff and remained there for about a year before taking a position as deputy commissioner for strategic operations at the Department of Labor, which terminated her employment in March 2023.

This is a developing story and will be updated.