Super Micro (SMCI) Co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw charged with smuggling NVIDIA (NVDA) AI chips to China

Super Micro Computer co-founder among three employees charged with multiple counts involving the smuggling of NVIDIA technology to China.

Super Micro (SMCI) Co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw is facing up to 30 years of imprisonment after being charged with smuggling NVIDIA AI chips into China.

On March 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice released information regarding Super Micro (SMCI) Co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw, general manager Ruei-Tsang Chang, and broker and “fixer” Ting-Wei Sun and the alleged smuggling of chips into China. All three have been charged with: one count of conspiring to violate the Export Controls Reform Act, one count of conspiring to smuggle goods from the United States, and one count of conspiring to defraud the United States. These three counts together carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.

Here’s what the Department of Justice had to say:

“The indictment unsealed today details alleged efforts to evade U.S. export laws through false documents, staged dummy servers to mislead inspectors, and convoluted transshipment schemes, in order to obfuscate the true destination of restricted AI technology—China,” said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “These chips are the product of American ingenuity, and NSD will continue to enforce our export-control laws to protect that advantage.”
“The FBI’s investigation revealed that Liaw, Chang, and Sun allegedly conspired to sell billions of dollars’ worth of servers integrating sensitive, controlled graphic processing units to buyers in China, in violation of U.S. export control laws,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.  “Controlling the export of sensitive U.S. artificial intelligence technology is essential to safeguarding our national security and defending the homeland.  That’s why combating export violations is among the FBI’s highest priorities, and we will continue working with our law enforcement, private sector, and international partners to bring to justice all who take action to undermine U.S. national security.”
"As alleged in the Indictment, the defendants participated in a systematic scheme to divert massive quantities of servers housing U.S. artificial intelligence technology to customers in China," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. "They did so through a tangled web of lies, obfuscation, and concealment—all to drive sales and generate revenues in violation of U.S. law. Diversion schemes like those disrupted today generate billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains and pose a direct threat to U.S. national security. Our Office, along with our partners at the FBI and Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, will continue to doggedly investigate these illegal diversion schemes to bring to justice bad actors who aim to profit from illegally exporting U.S. artificial intelligence technology."

The investigation revealed that approximately $510 million worth of the U.S. Manufacturer’s servers were allegedly diverted to China. Both Liaw and Sun were arrested today while Chang is still a fugitive. Both Sun and Chang are citizens of Taiwan while Liaw is a U.S. citizen. Super Micro Computer's stock stock was trading down nearly 13 percent in after-hours trading following this news. Stay tuned to Shacknews as this story develops and keep an eye on our Artificial Intelligence page.

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