Federal prosecutors have accused a former high-level aide to New York’s governor of secretly working for China in change for perks like orchestra tickets, tens of millions in money, and over a dozen Nanjing-style salted geese.
Linda Solar, who labored for Gov. Kathy Hochul and her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, was charged on Tuesday with over 10 prison counts, together with visa fraud, cash laundering, and conspiracy to violate the International Brokers Registration Act.
Solar, 40, is accused of blocking Taiwanese officers’ entry to the New York governor’s workplace and altering public messages from each governors to spice up China’s speaking factors, amongst different acts.
In accordance with the Justice Division, she additionally despatched messages informing the Chinese language consulate about Taiwan’s requests to the governor’s workplace.
“It is all been taken of satisfactorily,” she is alleged to written in a message to a Chinese language official in 2016.
“Simply an FYI, I already blocked it,” she additionally wrote in 2019 when the workplace of Taiwan’s president invited Cuomo to a banquet, per prosecutors.
Court docket filings unsealed on Tuesday stated that Solar held a number of high-level positions whereas working for over a decade within the New York authorities, together with as director for Asian-American affairs and Queens regional consultant underneath Cuomo.
She was promoted to deputy chief of workers underneath Hochul in September 2021, and went on to change into deputy commissioner for strategic enterprise improvement within the New York Labor Division from September 2022 to 2023.
Prosecutors stated that in this time, Solar would use bogus invitation letters to arrange conferences for Chinese language officers with New York authorities. At one level, she additionally tried to arrange a visit to China for Hochul, per courtroom filings.
“Solar wielded her place of affect amongst executives to covertly promote PRC and CCP agendas, immediately threatening our nation’s nationwide safety,” stated FBI Performing Assistant Director Curtis, referring to China’s official title and the Chinese language Communist Celebration.
Geese, VIP suite entry, and a condominium in Honolulu
In return, Solar obtained a slew of undeclared items, together with ballet and orchestra tickets, VIP suite entry at sporting occasions, promotion for a good friend’s firm, and tens of millions of {dollars} to the China-based enterprise of her husband, Chris Hu, per courtroom filings.
Investigators stated Solar additionally obtained salted geese ready by the non-public chef of an official on the Chinese language consulate, receiving them on 4 events from 2021 to 2022. Court docket paperwork say she obtained as much as six geese at a time.
Federal prosecutors added that Solar was additionally rewarded with a job for her cousin in China and obtained advantages from native officers when touring with a colleague for a piece journey to Jiangsu province.
Per the Justice Division, Solar and Hu used the cash they obtained from Chinese language officers to purchase a minimum of two properties — one in Manhasset, New York, that is now value $4.1 million, and a condominium in Honolulu, value $2.1 million.
Additionally they purchased luxurious automobiles like a 2024 Ferrari, the officers added.
Hu has been charged by the Justice Division too, and is accused of laundering cash and opening financial institution accounts with a relative’s driver’s license picture.
A spokesperson for Hochul informed Enterprise Insider that the New York governor’s workplace employed Solar greater than 10 years in the past.
“We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering proof of misconduct, instantly reported her actions to legislation enforcement, and have assisted legislation enforcement all through this course of,” they stated.
When Hochul was requested on Tuesday about Solar by WNYC’s radio podcast “All Things Considered,” the governor stated that the aide was fired “the second we found some ranges of misconduct.”
She declined to say which of Solar’s behaviors have been flagged by her workplace.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese language embassy in Washington, informed BI he was unaware of the precise particulars of Solar’s case.
“However in recent times, the US authorities and media have steadily overrated the so-called ‘Chinese language brokers’ narratives, a lot of which have later been confirmed unfaithful,” he stated in a press release, including that the embassy opposed “the groundlessly slandering and smearing concentrating on China.”
Jarrod Schaeffer, Solar’s lawyer, informed the Associated Press on Tuesday: “We’re trying ahead to addressing these fees in courtroom. Our consumer is understandably upset that these fees have been introduced.”
Schaeffer and a spokesperson for Cuomo didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark despatched exterior common enterprise hours by BI.
