The FBI searched a Nassau County home Tuesday morning that property records show belongs to a former deputy chief of staff to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, law enforcement sources close to the case confirmed.
Federal officers were seen around the Manhasset property linked to Linda Sun, who left the governor's office nearly two years go. Sun and her husband, Chris Hu, share the $3.5 million home in a gated community on Long Island called Stone Hill.
The couple purchased the home in 2021. Earlier this year, they placed the home in a trust, records show.
The nature of the investigation is unclear.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
When reached by phone Tuesday, Sun's husband declined to comment.
No criminal charges have been filed in the case.
According to her government bio, Sun was appointed deputy chief of staff to Hochul in September 2021. At the time, she was the highest-appointed Asian-American in the administration.
Local
Sun worked in state government for almost 15 years, first as the chief of staff for a state lawmaker, then held posts in the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and eventually served as the deputy chief of staff for Hochul, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She served as deputy superintendent for Intergovernmental Affairs & chief diversity officer at the NYS Department of Financial Services. Sun has also served as deputy chief diversity officer and director of Asian American Affairs for the NYS Executive Chamber, director of external affairs for Global NY at Empire State Development and chief of Staff to NYS Assemblymember Grace Meng.
In Nov. 2022, she moved to a job at the New York Department of Labor where she served as deputy commissioner for strategic business development, but she departed that job just months later in March of 2023, the profile said.
A person familiar with the circumstances of her departure said she was fired after evidence of misconduct was discovered. The matter was forwarded to law enforcement at the time, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters. The person declined to detail the nature of the alleged misconduct.
Hochul's office declined to comment on the FBI search.
After leaving state government, Sun went to work as campaign manager for Democrat Austin Cheng in an unsuccessful run for Congress on Long Island. Cheng did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, which covers Long Island, also declined to comment.
