Mistrial declared in case against Linda Sun, former aide to New York governors charged with acting as an agent for China

A Brooklyn federal judge granted a mistrial in the case against a former gubernatorial aide charged with acting as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government, after the jury failed to agree on a verdict following five days of deliberations.

Prosecutors had charged Linda Sun, 41, a top aide to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who acted as a liaison to the Chinese community, with doing the bidding of the Chinese government, steering elected officials away from supporting Taiwan in exchange for millions of dollars and other benefits. She also faced charges of money laundering conspiracy and fraud for allegedly steering multimillion-dollar contracts to the floundering lobster export company of her husband, Chris Hu.

Hu, 42, was also on trial, on charges including money laundering and fraud.

After five days of deliberating following a monthlong trial, jurors could not come to an agreement.

"Your honor, after extensive deliberations and redeliberations the jury remains unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The jurors' positions are firmly held," the foreman wrote to District Court Judge Brian Cogan. 

The judge set a return date for Jan. 26, but federal prosecutors hoped to retry the case as soon as February.

One juror outside the courthouse, who asked not to be named for privacy reasons, said the panel split 10-2 for conviction on all but one charge. She said on the remaining charge they split 11-1 for conviction. She declined to be more specific.

Sun's lawyers said their client has always maintained she has not broken the law.

"Throughout this trial, Linda Sun has steadfastly maintained her innocence — and that does not change now," attorney Jarrod Schaeffer said. "The inability of dedicated jurors to reach a unanimous verdict on all counts despite days of conscientious deliberation underscores how questionable and flawed these charges were. Right now, we are focused on next steps in this process, which has already taken a serious toll on Linda and her family. We sincerely hope that the government recognizes what this mistrial indicates and that it declines to retry such unsound charges."

Nicole Boeckmann, one of Hu’s attorneys, said the deadlocked jury proved Hu did nothing wrong. 

"Mr. Hu has maintained his innocence since the inception of his case, and I think the jury's inability to reach a verdict on any count highlights substantial flaws in the case," she said.

In his closing argument last week, prosecutor Alex Solomon described how Sun used her position as a top aide to two governors to allegedly do favors for Chinese officials.

Sun blocked the president of Taiwan, which China views as a breakaway territory, from meeting with Cuomo in 2019, according to evidence presented at trial. She forged Hochul’s signature on invitations purporting to be from the state government that allowed Chinese officials to unlawfully obtain visas to travel to the United States, according to trial testimony. She also took credit for removing mentions of the Uyghurs, a central Asian ethnic group who human rights activists say have been victims of political repression in China, prosecutors alleged.

In return, Chinese officials showered Sun with money and other perks, "treating her like the valuable asset that she was," Solomon told the jury last week.

Sun received millions of dollars by steering contracts for masks and other personal protective equipment to companies at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Solomon said. Sun lied to New York State procurement officials by falsely telling them the companies were recommended by the Chinese government, prosecutors alleged. Hu laundered the money to avoid detection from tax agencies and law enforcement, according to Solomon.

Hu’s lobster export business appeared headed for failure — a shipment of lobsters to China died after being left out of water for 50 hours — but Sun cultivated relationships with officials in the Henan provincial government that cut red tape with shipping and customs and helped obtain contracts for the company, Solomon said.

As a result of what prosecutors alleged were illicit gains, the couple purchased a $4 million home in Manhasset, a condominium in Hawaii, Hermes bags, Rolex watches, high-end cars and other luxuries.

Sun joined the Cuomo administration in 2012. She later worked as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff and later in the state’s Department of Labor. Sun persuaded Hochul, then Cuomo’s lieutenant governor, to film a Lunar New Year video touting China’s New York consulate, Solomon said. She later bragged to a Chinese official that Hochul was "much more obedient than the governor," according to prosecutors.

Attorneys for Sun and Hu told the jury last week that the government’s case was full of holes. It was built on emails, text messages and bank records, they said, but no witnesses offered testimony that tied Sun or Hu to criminal activity.

Kenneth Abell, one of Sun’s attorneys, contested allegations that his client blocked Taiwanese officials from meeting with Cuomo. No New York State governor has ever met with representatives of Taiwan, which China does not recognize as an independent nation, he told the jury.

Abell told the jury that the couple’s lavish lifestyle doesn’t mean they are guilty of criminal activity.

"It is not illegal to have money," he said. "It is not illegal to spend it."

Boeckmann said in her closing argument there was no need for Chinese firms to pay off Sun because New York State and other governments were desperate for masks and other protective gear. It was a seller’s market, she said, and governments were buying up as much PPE as they could as the death toll from the pandemic rose.

"Why would someone offer a bribe for a contract that was there for the taking?" Boeckmann asked.

The company Sun contacted delivered quality products quickly and at a fair price, Boeckmann said.

"It absolutely makes no sense," Boeckmann added. "There was no competition."

Abell asked the jury to put themselves in Sun’s shoes: She joined state government as a liaison to the state’s Asian American and Asian communities, got the Chinese government to donate ventilators during the pandemic, arranged for the purchase of millions of dollars worth of PPE — and is now accused of wrongdoing.

"The overwhelming evidence," Abell said, "is that Linda was doing her job."