Charges Filed for Smuggling NVIDIA Chips into China

Federal prosecutors have brought charges against three Chinese nationals and one American for allegedly smuggling advanced NVIDIA computer chips into China. These charges were detailed in court documents filed after their arrests in California.

Chum Lee, also known as “Tony Lee,” was arrested in connection with prior charges in Florida involving the export of restricted graphics processing equipment without the necessary license. The chips in question are essential for AI and supercomputing purposes, which U.S. authorities have limited due to national security issues.

The group reportedly used a shell company based in Tampa, Janford Realtor LLC, to mask shipments from September 2023 to July 2025. Prosecutors claim they sent around 400 NVIDIA A100 GPUs and 50 H200 GPUs through Malaysia and Thailand, intending to obscure the final destination: China.

Alongside Lee, Hong Ning-Ho from Tampa, Brian Curtis Raymond from Huntsville, Alabama, and Jing Chen from Tampa are also set to face charges. The indictment alleges that they submitted false export documentation and fabricated contracts to elude detection.

China aims to become a leading player in AI by 2030, prompting the U.S. Commerce Department to impose export restrictions on advanced computing chips in October 2022. This move is aimed at preventing the Chinese government from utilizing this technology for military or surveillance purposes.

According to court files, over $3 million financed the purchases through wire transfers from Chinese company accounts. A Homeland Security investigation also led to the seizure of 50 NVIDIA H200 GPUs in Tampa.

If convicted, the defendants could potentially face up to 20 years in prison for violations of export control laws, alongside additional sentences for smuggling and a money laundering conspiracy. Each export violation carries a possible fine of $1 million.