Two Americans and two Chinese nationals were apprehended for allegedly exporting Nvidia AI chips to China, which breaches export regulations and poses a threat to national security.
The Justice Department revealed that the Americans involved are Hong Ning “Matthew” Ho, aged 34 from Tampa, Florida, and Brian Curtis Raymond, 46 from Huntsville, Alabama, both of whom originally hail from Hong Kong. The Chinese citizens include Cham “Tony” Lee from San Leandro, California, and Jing “Harry” Chen, residing in Tampa on a student visa.
“On November 19, 2025, both Ho and Chen were arrested in Florida, while Raymond faced arrest in Alabama. Lee was taken into custody the following day and is set to appear in a California court,” the Justice Department stated in a Thursday news release.
Due to China’s ambitions to lead in AI by 2030—particularly in military and surveillance applications—exports of advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) are tightly regulated, as highlighted in the release.
The indictment charges that from September 2023 to November 2025, these individuals conspired to illegally send advanced GPUs to China via Malaysia and Thailand.
To disguise their efforts, they allegedly utilized a front company called Janford Realtor LLC, which was misleadingly named since it was not involved in real estate at all.
“Raymond supplied NVIDIA GPUs through an electronics firm in Alabama, which he provided to Ho and others for illegal export,” the release notes.
The conspiracy involved four separate attempts to export goods. Two of these were successful, with 400 NVIDIA A100 GPUs making their way to China between October 2024 and January this year.
“Law enforcement blocked the third and fourth export attempts, which included 10 supercomputers equipped with NVIDIA H100 GPUs and 50 NVIDIA H200 GPUs,” the document states.
Despite knowing that a license was mandatory for such exports, none of the accused sought the required permissions. They allegedly misled authorities to sidestep U.S. export laws.
“The indictment asserts that over $3.89 million was transferred from China to finance this illegal operation,” it read.
Each accused faces serious consequences, including up to 20 years in prison for violations of the Export Control Reform Act, along with additional time for smuggling and money laundering charges.
“This indictment reveals a systematic effort to illegally ship controlled NVIDIA GPUs to China by falsifying documentation and misleading U.S. authorities,” remarked John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “The National Security Agency is dedicated to interrupting these black markets for sensitive U.S. technology,” he added.
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
