Three Charged in $170M Nvidia GPU Smuggling Scheme to China

Stanley Yi Zheng, Matthew Kelly, and Tommy Shad English have been charged with conspiracy to commit smuggling and export control violations related to an attempt to illegally export $170 million worth of advanced Nvidia GPUs from a California-based hardware company to China via Thailand. The defendants allegedly sought to acquire 750 servers, 600 of which contained export-controlled chips, by falsely representing themselves as a Thailand-based company. The scheme began in May 2023 and unraveled in January 2024 when the hardware manufacturer raised concerns about the legitimacy of the order. Zheng was arrested on March 22, 2026, while Kelly and English surrendered to authorities on March 25, 2026. The case highlights ongoing efforts to protect U.S. technology from foreign adversaries, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence.

Key Points: • Three individuals charged for attempting to smuggle $170 million worth of Nvidia GPUs to China. • The scheme involved false representations and targeted export-controlled technology. • Arrests were made following a lengthy investigation that began in May 2023.