Four Individuals Arrested in Alleged Scheme to Illegally Export Nvidia AI Chips to China

Federal Authorities Uncover Illegal Chip Export Ring

Four individuals, including two Chinese nationals and two American citizens, have been arrested by federal authorities in connection with an alleged scheme to illegally export cutting-edge Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) with artificial intelligence applications to China. The U.S. Justice Department announced the arrests and the unsealing of an indictment this week, detailing a sophisticated operation that sought to circumvent stringent U.S. export controls.

The alleged conspiracy spanned from September 2023 until the arrests in November 2025. Prosecutors contend that the defendants engaged in a 'deliberate and deceptive effort to transship controlled NVIDIA GPUs to China by falsifying paperwork, creating fake contracts and misleading U.S. authorities,' according to Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg.

Details of the Alleged Scheme and Intercepted Shipments

The indictment outlines how the group allegedly used a Tampa-based shell company, Janford Realtor LLC, which prosecutors stated was never involved in real estate transactions, as a front to procure and ship the restricted Nvidia silicon overseas. The chips were reportedly routed through intermediate countries such as Malaysia and Thailand before their intended final destination in China.

The scheme allegedly involved multiple shipments of high-performance Nvidia GPUs, including:

• 400 Nvidia A100 GPUs successfully exported to China between October 2024 and January 2025 in two separate shipments.
• An attempted shipment of 50 Nvidia H200 GPUs, which was intercepted by authorities.
• An attempted shipment of 10 Hewlett Packard Enterprise supercomputers equipped with Nvidia H100 GPUs, also disrupted by law enforcement.

The defendants allegedly received more than $3.89 million in wire transfers to finance the illicit export activities.

The Accused and Charges Faced

The four individuals arrested and charged are:

• Hon Ning Ho, 34, a U.S. citizen born in Hong Kong, residing in Florida. He is also known as Matthew Ho.
• Jing Chen, 45, a Chinese national in the U.S. on an F-1 nonimmigrant student visa, residing in Florida. He is also known as Harry Chen.
• Brian Curtis Raymond, 46, an American citizen from Alabama, who allegedly supplied GPUs through his electronics business.
• Cham Li, 38, a Chinese national residing in California. He is also known as Tony Li.

They face charges of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) and money laundering. If convicted, each charge carries a potential maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Broader Context of U.S. Export Controls

This case underscores the U.S. government's ongoing efforts to enforce strict export controls on advanced semiconductor technology, particularly those with AI capabilities, to China. The Justice Department stated that China is actively seeking cutting-edge U.S. technology to advance its goal of becoming the world leader in AI by 2030. U.S. officials have expressed concerns that such technology could be used for military modernization, weapons development, and large-scale surveillance systems.