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Two Americans and two Chinese nationals are accused of secretly funneling advanced Nvidia artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, a plot that prosecutors say threatened U.S. national security and violated strict export controls.
The Department of Justice said in a news release that Hon Ning “Mathew” Ho, 34, a U.S. citizen born in Hong Kong and living in Tampa, Florida; Brian Curtis Raymond, 46, of Huntsville, Alabama; Cham “Tony” Li, 38, a Chinese national living in San Leandro, California; and Jing “Harry” Chen, 45, a Chinese national living in Tampa on a student visa, faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, smuggling and money laundering.
“The indictment unsealed yesterday alleges a deliberate and deceptive attempt to effect a controlled transshipment Nvidia GPUs to China by falsifying paperwork, creating false contracts, and misleading U.S. authorities,” said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
“The National Security Division is committed to disrupting these types of black markets for sensitive U.S. technologies and holding accountable those who participate in this illicit trade.”
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Four people, including two Chinese nationals, are facing federal charges for allegedly secretly funneling advanced Nvidia AI chips to China. (MF3d/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Prosecutors allege that the defendants used a Tampa-based company called Janford Realtor LLC as a front to purchase and export limited Nvidia GPUs.
Despite its name, Janford Realtor has never been involved in real estate activities and was allegedly founded to conceal shipments from high-end processors bound for China.
The group conspired from September 2023 through November 2025 to illegally export the advanced chips through third countries, including Malaysia and Thailand, to evade U.S. export controls, the indictment said.
Investigators say the defendants forged documents, created false contracts and misled authorities about the technology’s final destination.
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Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia Corp., discusses the function of Nvidia chips using AI. (Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The conspiracy allegedly involves four separate exports of Nvidia GPUs to China. The first two shipments, shipped between October 2024 and January 2025, will contain approximately 400 Nvidia A100 processors.
Law enforcement disrupted two additional shipments before they were completed, involving 10 Hewlett Packard Enterprise supercomputers with Nvidia H100 GPUs and 50 discrete H200 GPUs.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA | NVIDIA CORP. | 180.64 | -5.88 |
-3.15% |
Investigators said the defendants received more than $3.8 million in wire transfers from China to finance the operation.
None of the defendants have obtained the permits needed to export the technology, and authorities say they knowingly lied about the final destination of the processors to evade U.S. export laws.
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The Department of Justice building in Washington, DC (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The People’s Republic of China, the indictment said, aims to become the world leader in AI by 2030 and aims to AI for military modernizationincluding the design and testing of weapons of mass destruction.
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The indictment also alleged that the PRC is pursuing advanced American technology in furtherance of that goal, including Nvidia GPUs.
“As evidenced by this indictment, the The US Attorney’s Office because the Middle District of Florida is committed to protecting our nation’s national security,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. “Thanks to the dedicated investigative work of our law enforcement partners, these defendants who wrongfully exported this sensitive technology will be brought to justice.”
