Four charged over alleged plot to smuggle Nvidia AI chips into China
Summary
Four people were arrested and charged in the US after prosecutors say they conspired to smuggle restricted Nvidia AI GPUs into the People’s Republic of China between September 2023 and November 2025. The alleged scheme used shell firms, falsified paperwork and trans‑shipment points in Malaysia and Thailand to evade Commerce Department export controls instituted in October 2022.
Authorities identify Hon Ning “Mathew” Ho, Brian Curtis Raymond, Cham “Tony” Li and Jing “Harry” Chen. Prosecutors allege Janford Realtor LLC — a Tampa company owned by Ho and Li — acted as a front to purchase and route the hardware, while Raymond supplied GPUs via an Alabama electronics business. Two of four export attempts allegedly succeeded: roughly 400 Nvidia A100 GPUs were moved into China between October 2024 and January 2025. Two later attempts were disrupted, including an intercepted shipment of ten HPE supercomputers containing H100 accelerators and a recovered batch of 50 H200 GPUs.
Prosecutors say none of the defendants applied for required export licences and that about $3.89 million in wire transfers from China financed the operation. The DOJ plans to seize the recovered H200 GPUs and has charged the defendants with conspiracy and export‑control violations, which carry a potential maximum sentence of 20 years.
Key Points
- Four US‑based individuals charged with conspiring to export restricted Nvidia GPUs to China.
- Alleged tactics included shell companies, fake invoices and routing via Malaysia and Thailand.
- Janford Realtor LLC is accused of functioning as a front to buy and ship chips overseas.
- About 400 A100 GPUs allegedly made it into China; further shipments with H100 and H200 chips were stopped.
- Prosecutors say no export licences were sought and roughly $3.89m changed hands to fund the scheme.
- The DOJ intends to seize recovered GPUs and pursue charges that carry up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
- The case highlights ongoing difficulties in preventing advanced AI hardware reaching actors linked to military and surveillance use.
Context and relevance
This case sits at the crossroads of AI, national security and global trade. US export controls on high‑end GPUs aim to limit access to compute that can accelerate weapons development and mass surveillance. The arrests underline both the persistent demand for premium silicon and the creativity of illicit supply chains; earlier reporting indicates more than $1bn of top‑tier Nvidia hardware has already been diverted into China via smugglers and resellers.
Why should I read this?
Short version: GPUs, dodgy paperwork and a pile of cash. If you follow AI infrastructure, geopolitics or supply‑chain risk, this is the sort of case that shows why export rules matter — and how easily they can be tested. We read it so you don’t have to.