Wait, the Alleged Chinese Mole Who Infiltrated Kathy Hochul's Office Did What Now?

Matt Vespa | November 18, 2025 6:50 AM

It’s a wild story; part of the ongoing spy games played between nations. Linda Sun was a top New York political operative. She worked for Andrew Cuomo and, recently, for Kathy Hochul. She was recently indicted on a slew of fraud and bribery charges, as well as for failing to register as a foreign agent for China.

She infiltrated this political space and worked diligently to foster closer relations between New York and China, even going so far as to doctor Hochul’s signature on communications to Chinese dignitaries. (via NY Post):

Alleged Chinese mole Linda Sun brazenly forged then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature in glowing missives sent to dignitaries from the Henan province, according to the feds and documents presented at her bombshell trial.
Jurors in Brooklyn federal court were shown copies of letters purportedly sent by Hochul on March 26, 2018, inviting a six-member delegation from the province in central China to a meeting with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
But the letters bore clearly forged versions of Hochul’s signature — that featured “overly loopy” handwriting, her former chief of staff Jeff Lewis testified.
“From my experience, this is not how she would sign her name,” Lewis told jurors last week.
The letters suggested that members of the delegation could expect discussions about “promoting greater investment, trade cooperation and tourism opportunities” with the Empire State, court records show.
Prosecutors say that Sun, who served as Cuomo’s director of Asian-American affairs, forged the governor’s then-No. 2 Hochul’s signature several times that year in an attempt to curry favor with Chinese officials.
Over the same time span, Sun’s alleged handlers in Beijing showered her family with gaudy gifts and steered millions of dollars in contracts to her husband Chris Hu’s seafood exporting business, the feds claim.
In exchange, Sun, who also worked as a top aide to Hochul when she succeeded Cuomo as governor, attempted to advance China’s agenda in New York state, federal prosecutors allege.