Co-founder of tech company charged with diverting $2.5 billion in Nvidia AI chips to China in violation of export laws
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/19/politics/super-micro-computer-founder-charged-ai-chips-china
Publish Date: 2026-03-20 00:01:00
Source Domain: www.cnn.com
Here is a summary of the key points from the article:
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Charges and Individuals Involved: The co-founder of Super Micro Computer, Yih-Shyan Liaw (Wally), along with Ruei-Tsang Chang (Steven) and Ting-Wei Sun (Willy), have been charged with diverting servers worth $2.5 billion, containing Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips, to China, in violation of US export control laws.
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Legal and Law Enforcement Actions:
- Liaw was arrested in California and subsequently released on bail.
- Sun remains in custody awaiting a detention hearing.
- Chang, who worked in the Taiwan office of Super Micro, is currently at large.
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Super Micro Company’s Reaction:
- The company has placed Liaw and Chang on administrative leave.
- Super Micro terminated its relationship with Sun and maintains a strict stance on adherence to export control laws.
- The company has released a statement asserting its full cooperation with the ongoing investigation.
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Deceptive Schemes and Methods Used:
- The accused men used a pass-through company based in Southeast Asia to obscure their shipments’ destination in China.
- They crafted false documents with the aid of the pass-through company’s executives and repackaged servers into unmarked boxes to evade detection.
- To deceive auditors, they staged dummy servers complete with photography to mislead compliance checks.
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US Attorney’s Statement:
- Jay Clayton, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, emphasized that diversion schemes threaten U.S. national security and must be swiftly addressed to uphold the law.
