A former aide to two New York governors already facing charges of acting as an illicit agent of China pleaded not guilty on Monday to additional charges that she improperly profited from the state’s purchase of face masks and other key medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Linda Sun, 41, and her husband, Chris Hu, 40, — who is also charged — entered not guilty pleas to charges of wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Hu also faces tax evasion charges.
The two remain free on bond and are due back in court Aug. 25 ahead of an expected November trial.
Sun’s lawyer Jarrod Schaeffer declined to comment following Monday’s proceedings but has previously dismissed the new charges as “feverish accusations unmoored from the facts.” Hu’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond Monday but have also similarly denied the charges.
Prosecutors say the couple collected millions of dollars in kickbacks by exploiting Sun’s role in helping New York procure personal protective equipment, or PPE, during the pandemic in 2020.
They say Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen, used connections in her native China to secure PPE for the state, though she didn’t disclose her family’s ties to two vendors that received more than $44 million, prosecutors say.
Source : https://apnews.com/article/new-york-governor-aide-china-ppe-ba6211f16200091469ae76611ddca6a3
