Federal authorities have unsealed charges against three technology industry figures accused of orchestrating a sophisticated scheme to illegally export advanced American artificial intelligence chips to China, circumventing strict export controls through an elaborate system of dummy equipment and falsified documentation.
The Department of Justice announced Thursday the arrest of Yih-Shyan ‘Wally’ Liaw, a U.S. citizen and Senior Vice President of Business Development at California-based Super Micro Computer, along with Taiwanese citizen Ting-Wei ‘Willy’ Sun. A third individual, Ruei-Tsang ‘Steven’ Chang, also from Taiwan, remains at large according to federal authorities.
The defendants allegedly conspired with an unidentified Southeast Asian company, referred to as Company-1 in court documents, to divert Nvidia-made semiconductors—highly coveted AI chips subject to stringent export restrictions—to Chinese brokers. The sophisticated operation involved placing orders for servers containing restricted technology while fabricating records to indicate Company-1 as the intended end user.
Instead, the conspirators allegedly repackaged servers with assistance from a logistics firm, concealing them in unmarked containers before shipment to China. The operation utilized thousands of replica ‘dummy’ servers designed to resemble legitimate equipment during audits, while the actual restricted technology had already been illegally exported.
Surveillance footage reportedly captured Sun using hair dryers to remove and reapply labels and serial number tags between genuine server boxes and their replica counterparts. The Justice Department estimates Company-1 purchased approximately $2.5 billion worth of equipment, shipping ‘massive quantities of servers with controlled U.S. artificial intelligence technology’ to China without proper authorization.
Super Micro Computer, a publicly-traded technology equipment supplier, confirmed the individuals’ association with the company while emphasizing its cooperation with investigators. The firm placed Liaw and Chang on administrative leave and terminated its contract with Sun, stating the alleged conduct violated company policies and export compliance controls.
This case emerges alongside a separate investigation involving two Chinese nationals arrested in August 2025 for illegally shipping millions of dollars worth of Nvidia chips to China through Malaysian and Singaporean intermediaries. The ongoing enforcement actions highlight heightened concerns about technology transfer to China amid national security considerations.
Nvidia, whose advanced semiconductors power most artificial intelligence applications, maintains rigorous compliance programs according to company representatives. The chipmaker emphasized it provides no support for unlawfully diverted systems and collaborates closely with government agencies on export control enforcement.