NEW YORK (WABC) — A former aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul was arrested at her Long Island home Tuesday morning and charged with acting as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government, prosecutors said.

Linda Sun, 41, who held numerous positions in New York state government before rising to become Hochul’s deputy chief of staff, was arrested Tuesday morning along with her husband, 40-year-old Chris Hu.

The FBI searched the couple’s $3.5 million home in Manhasset in July, but declined to release further details at the time.

Sun and Hu are expected to plead guilty when they appear in federal court Tuesday afternoon.

The charges relate to violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. According to official information, Sun is accused of acting as a secret agent of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.

“As alleged, the defendant and her husband, while purporting to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff in the New York State Executive Chamber, were in fact pursuing the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “The illegal scheme enriched the defendant’s family by millions of dollars.”

Prosecutors said Sun, at the request of Chinese officials, denied Taiwanese government representatives access to high-ranking officials in New York state, altered state government communications on issues related to the Chinese government and attempted to arrange for a high-ranking politician in New York to travel to China, among other things.

Hu is accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of identification means.

Sun worked for state government for about 15 years before being fired from her position as deputy commissioner for strategic business development at the New York State Department of Labor last year.

Previously, she served as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff.

A spokesman for the governor issued the following statement:

“This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago. We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, promptly reporting her actions to law enforcement, and assisting law enforcement throughout the process.”

Sun and Hu live in a gated community called Stone Hill on Long Island. The couple bought the home in 2021 but transferred it into a trust earlier this year, records show.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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