The US is compromised. We don’t know who we can trust.
And now bombshell arrests uncovered a secret Chinese infiltration of America.
Federal authorities have taken decisive action to protect America’s technological edge and national security by charging three individuals in a major case involving the illegal diversion of cutting-edge U.S. AI hardware to China.
Bold Defense of American Innovation
U.S. prosecutors recently unsealed charges against three men connected to Super Micro Computer Inc. (Supermicro), accusing them of orchestrating a sophisticated plot to bypass strict export controls.
The scheme allegedly funneled billions of dollars’ worth of high-performance AI servers—loaded with advanced American-developed technology—directly to Chinese buyers.
This brazen effort sought to undermine the very restrictions designed to keep America’s world-leading innovations out of adversarial hands.
By acting swiftly, federal agents have disrupted what could have been a massive transfer of sensitive capabilities that strengthen U.S. military and economic advantages.
A Web of Deception Unraveled
The accused—Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw (a U.S. citizen and Supermicro co-founder), Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang (a Taiwan citizen and former sales manager, now at large), and Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun (a Taiwan citizen and contractor)—allegedly employed elaborate tricks to conceal the true destinations.
They used fake documents to misrepresent end-users, staged thousands of non-functional “dummy” servers to fool inspectors, reapplied labels and serial numbers (even with a hair dryer), and routed shipments through a Southeast Asia-based intermediary for repackaging into unmarked boxes before final delivery to China.
Over the course of the operation, roughly $2.5 billion in AI servers were diverted, including a staggering $510 million in just weeks during 2025. These tactics highlight the lengths some will go to exploit American ingenuity for foreign gain.
Safeguarding U.S. Superiority and Security
This indictment sends a clear message: America will vigorously defend its technological leadership.
As Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg stated: “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. These chips are the product of American ingenuity, and NSD will continue to enforce our export-control laws to protect that advantage.”
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York emphasized: “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.”
And Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, reinforced: “controlling the export of sensitive U.S. artificial intelligence technology is essential to safeguarding our national security and defending the homeland.”
Thanks to the tireless work of U.S. law enforcement and prosecutors, this scheme has been halted, reinforcing that American innovation belongs to America first—and that those who threaten it will face serious consequences.
