Four Individuals Charged in Suspected Plot to Illegally Export Supercomputers and Nvidia Chips to China

Stern stated that text messages gathered by authorities reveal Li bragging about how his father “had engaged in similar business on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.” Stern claimed the messages also show Li, who is employed at a hardware distribution company, was aware, through news articles he shared, that the Nvidia chips were subject to export controls. “He mentioned that his father had methods to import them,” Stern noted, again referencing Li’s text messages.

Stern informed the court that Li “did acknowledge various facts” during questioning by federal agents on Wednesday that implicated him.

The defendants are facing multiple charges related to violations of export control laws and could potentially be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Ho and Raymond did not quickly respond to requests for comment sent to LinkedIn accounts believed to be theirs. Public defenders for Chen and Li chose not to comment.

Nvidia spokesperson John Rizzo stated that “even small sales of older generation products on the secondary market are subject to strict scrutiny and review” and that “attempting to piece together datacenters from smuggled products is unfeasible, both technically and economically.”

Corvex, an AI cloud computing firm Raymond consulted for, released a statement indicating that it had withdrawn a job offer for him to join the company full-time and that it had no involvement in the alleged misconduct.

Earlier this year, the US Department of Commerce reportedly considered imposing restrictions on the sale of advanced chips to Malaysia and Thailand to prevent chip smuggling, but the regulations are not yet finalized. The Commerce Department did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Magistrate Judge Westmore mandated that Li hire an attorney, explaining that he had substantial equity in a San Leandro, California, home and other assets, making him ineligible for a public defender. The magistrate also scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to determine whether Li poses a significant flight risk and should remain in detention. He possesses a US green card and Hong Kong citizenship.

Li, dressed in glasses, flip-flops, and a black windbreaker, nodded in response to some of Westmore’s comments but did not speak. Kaitlyn Fryzek, his temporary public defender, mentioned that Li intends to marry a US citizen. “His incentive is to stay and marry his fiancée,” Fryzek said.