Linda Sun, a former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with working as an undisclosed agent for the Chinese government, federal prosecutors said.

Sun, who previously served as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff, was taken into custody Tuesday morning along with her husband, Chris Hu, at their multimillion-dollar Long Island home.

The charges, unsealed in a sweeping indictment on Tuesday, accuse Sun of acting as a secret agent for China while holding various positions within the New York state government.

Sun and Hu are expected to make their first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn told the Associated Press.

Sun’s attorney Seth DuCharme did not immediately respond to the Associated Press’ (AP) request for comment.

Sun’s arrest followed a federal investigation that included a July search of the couple’s $3.5 million, five-bedroom home in a gated community called Stone Hill on Long Island, but details of that search were not disclosed. According to property records, the couple had purchased the property in 2021 but placed it in a trust earlier this year in March, raising further questions about their activities.

The FBI previously confirmed Newsweek that the company was “conducting court-ordered law enforcement activities in Manhasset” during the July search, but declined to provide further details.

Newsweek contacted Hochul’s office via an online form on Tuesday for comment.

Sun’s career in New York state government spanned 15 years, including positions in former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration. She rose through the ranks to become Hochul’s deputy chief of staff before moving to a position in the New York Department of Labor as deputy commissioner for strategic business development in November 2022, but she left that position in March 2023.

According to AP, Governor Hochul’s office confirmed that Sun was removed from office earlier this year after evidence of misconduct surfaced. The administration reported Sun’s actions to law enforcement and has cooperated fully with the ongoing investigation.

“This individual was hired over a decade ago, and when we discovered evidence of his misconduct, we immediately terminated his employment and reported his actions to law enforcement,” the spokesperson said, according to AP. “We have cooperated fully with authorities throughout the investigation.”

Her husband now runs a liquor store in Flushing, Queens, and has started several other businesses over the past decade.