Bribery trial against aide to Hochul, Cuomo ends in mistrial

Deliberations in the bribery trial against Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, ended in a mistrial Monday after jurors said they were deadlocked on all 19 counts against Sun and her husband, Chris Hu.

“Your Honor, after extensive deliberations and re-deliberations, the jury remains unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The jurors positions are firmly held,” the panel, which began deliberating on Dec. 12 and then restarted with an alternate on Monday morning, wrote to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan of the Eastern District of New York.

Sun, 42, was accused of taking gifts and benefits worth millions of dollars in exchange for working as a Chinese agent, including by facilitating communications between New York state officers and Chinese government officials; organizing Chinese government officials’ visits to the U.S.; and blocking Taiwanese officials from meeting with New York’s governors.

The payoff, prosecutors say, included lucrative business deals, travel perks and lavish trappings like a $2 million Honolulu condominium and Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by a Chinese government official’s personal chef.

“Linda Sun was all about the money. The PRC government knew this, and it kept her on the line with a steady stream of presents, favors and helping hands,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Solomon told the jury during closing arguments.

Linda Sun and co-defendant Chris Hu arrive at U.S court during her trial on charges of acting as unregistered agents of China’s government, in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Adam Gray

Prosecutors indicted Sun and Hu in 2024 on charges of acting as agents of the People’s Republic of China in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, plus visa fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

A year later they tacked on charges related to a ran an alleged pandemic-era fraud scheme, accusing Sun of taking kickbacks while steering millions in contracts to her husband and cousin.

Throughout the trial, which began on Nov. 10, the government called 41 witnesses. The defense called eight witnesses.

Solomon told Cogan the government wants to retry the case “as soon as possible.”

Sun’s attorney, Jarrod Schaeffer of the firm Abell Eskew Landau, said his client maintains her innocence.

“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,” Schaeffer said in a statement emailed to amNewYork Law.

“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.”

Hu was represented by Bracewell attorneys including Seth DuCharme, former acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where the case was tried, and Nicole Boeckmann. The team echoed Schaeffer in saying Hu remains “adamant that he is innocent” and that the deadlocked jury indicates flawed charges.

“The government should seriously reconsider an attempt to proceed to trial again in this matter,” the Bracewell attorneys said in a statement.