Two Americans and two Chinese nationals have been arrested for allegedly secretly exporting advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, a scheme prosecutors say threatened US national security.
The Department of Justice announced Thursday that the four men face multiple charges, including conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, smuggling, and money laundering.
The accused are four men: two US citizens, Hon Ning "Mathew" Ho from Florida and Brian Curtis Raymond from Alabama, and two Chinese nationals, Cham "Tony" Li living in California and Jing "Harry" Chen in Florida on a student visa.
"The indictment unsealed yesterday alleges a deliberate and deceptive effort to transship controlled Nvidia GPUs to China by falsifying paperwork, creating fake contracts and misleading US authorities," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said.
"The National Security Division is committed to disrupting these kinds of black markets of sensitive US technologies."
According to FoxBusiness, Prosecutors say the defendants used a Tampa-based company, Janford Realtor LLC, as a cover to buy and export restricted Nvidia GPUs.
Despite its name, the company did not conduct real estate business and allegedly served only to conceal shipments of high-end processors.
Two 🇺🇸 citizens and two 🇨🇳 nationals — all residing in the US — have been arrested and charged with a conspiracy to illegally export cutting-edge Nvidia GPUs to China.
— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) November 20, 2025
Those arrested include Hon Ning Ho, aka “Mathew Ho,” a 🇺🇸 citizen born in Hong Kong; Brian Curtis Raymond, 🇺🇸… https://t.co/dMMVsk8QQ1 pic.twitter.com/8sFfVHqm2B
Nvidia GPU Smuggling via Malaysia, Thailand Exposed
The conspiracy, which ran from September 2023 through November 2025, involved illegally shipping the chips through third countries, including Malaysia and Thailand, to bypass US export controls.
Investigators said the group falsified documents and misled authorities about the chips' final destination.
The scheme included four shipments of Nvidia GPUs. Two shipments between October 2024 and January 2025 sent roughly 400 Nvidia A100 processors to China, CBS News reported.
Two additional shipments, involving Hewlett Packard Enterprise supercomputers with H100 GPUs and 50 H200 GPUs, were intercepted by law enforcement before completion.
The defendants allegedly received more than $3.8 million in wire transfers from China to fund the operation.
US Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe emphasized the national security risk. "Thanks to the dedicated investigative work by our law enforcement partners, these defendants who wrongfully exported this sensitive technology are facing justice," he said.
The indictment notes that China aims to lead the world in AI by 2030 and use the technology for military modernization, including weapons design and testing.
None of the defendants obtained the required licenses to export the GPUs, and violations of the Export Control Reform Act carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison, if convicted.
Originally published on vcpost.com
