Justice Department Charges Four for Exporting Nvidia AI Chips to China

The Justice Department has charged four individuals for allegedly exporting advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to China without proper authorization. The accused include two Chinese nationals, Cham Li, 38, of California, and Jing Chen, 45, a student in Florida, along with two Americans, Hon Ning Ho, 34, and Brian Curtis Raymond, 46, residing in Florida and Alabama, respectively.

They face charges of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act and money laundering. The Justice Department claims the defendants engaged in a deceptive scheme to transship Nvidia graphics processing units or GPUs to China via Malaysia and Thailand.

Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg stated that they falsified documents and misled U.S. authorities to facilitate these exports. According to the report, nearly four million dollars was received from China to fund this operation.

Between October 2024 and January 2025, the group reportedly exported around 400 Nvidia A100 GPUs in two shipments, while two additional shipments were disrupted by law enforcement. The Justice Department highlighted that the defendants failed to obtain the necessary export licenses for these transactions, despite being aware of the requirement.

The illegal export of these technologies is particularly concerning as China aims to enhance its AI capabilities to become a global leader in the field by 2030. Violations of the Export Control Reform Act and money laundering could lead to sentences of up to 20 years in prison upon conviction.

This case underscores the critical national security implications surrounding the export of advanced AI technology, especially given Nvidia's significant financial performance, reporting earnings of 31.9 billion dollars on record revenue of 57 billion dollars for the third quarter.

The situation reflects ongoing tensions and the competitive dynamics in the global AI landscape, where advanced technology exportation is closely monitored.