US prosecutors have unsealed an indictment revealing a $2.5 billion AI chip smuggling scheme involving employees of Super Micro Computer, targeting Nvidia GPUs destined for China in violation of export controls.
Key points:
- Defendants:
- Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, 71, senior VP of business development and board member
- Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang, 53, sales manager in Taiwan
- Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun, 44, contractor and described as a “fixer”
- Alleged scheme:
- Smuggling high-performance Nvidia GPUs embedded in computer servers to China without US licenses.
- Used a Southeast Asian pass-through company to obscure the destination.
- Falsified documents and kept dummy servers in stock to mislead auditors.
- The scheme reportedly ran for about two years.
- Prosecutor statement: US attorney Jay Clayton said the defendants engaged in “a systematic scheme to divert massive quantities of US artificial intelligence technology to customers in China” through lies, obfuscation, and concealment.
- Company response: Super Micro Computer stated the employees violated internal policies and controls and that the company is fully cooperating with authorities.
This case underscores rising US concerns over unauthorized export of AI hardware and technology to China, highlighting the high stakes in controlling advanced computing and AI capabilities.
