Chinese Nationals Charged for Allegedly Exporting Microchips to China Without License
The U.S. Department of Justice on Aug. 5 announced charges against Geng Chuan, 28, of Pasadena, and Yang Shiwei, 28, of El Monte, under the Export Control Reform Act, a felony offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Geng voluntarily surrendered to authorities on Aug. 2, while Yang was arrested earlier on the same day.
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Ex-Guatemalan mayor has initial U.S. court hearing on drug charge
Aug. 6 (UPI) -- An ex-Guatemalan mayor could spend the rest of his life in jail if convicted for allegedly working to import more than five kilos of cocaine into the United States from his Latin American nation. The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday in a statement that Romeo Ramos Cruz, 57, was extradited from Guatemala on Monday and present for an initial court hearing on Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C. Ramos Cruz, formerly the mayor of Santa Lucia in Guatemala's Escuintla Department in the south-central part of the country only miles to the Pacific Ocean, allegedly abused his authority to coordinate cocaine shipment logistics destined for the illicit U.S. drug market. He was charged on one count of conspiracy. Guatemala has a long history of politicians who either pilfer the public coffers or join the cartel that in recent years has shifted its illegal drug operations into Guatemala via Mexico. DOJ says from 2002 to last year the former chief of the Guatemalan city of nearly 59,000 inhabitants served as a "key" player in a Guatemala-based trafficking cartel that's sole purpose was to transport cocaine to the United States. According to court records, in one instance he agreed to help disguise a cocaine shipment from Venezuela to Guatemala as cement, and prepared an official letter on government letterhead in order to evade inspection by Guatemalan authorities. The United States has maintained a more dynamic relationship with Guatemala over the last 25 years following the end to its bloody 35-year-long civil war, but issues of inequality and exploitation of its native population still persist. "I don't understand why the US supports corrupt politicians that later are against their own policies and want to govern forever changing laws and constitutions," Carlos Torrebiarte, VP of Guatemala's right-leaning Association for the Defense of Private Property, posted last Tuesday on social media. "It happened with Noriega, Sadam, Ortega, Lula, Petro, in Afghanistan, etc.," he said. He claimed that it's "happening in Guatemala with Arevalo," in reference to the country's center-left President Bernardo Arevalo. The arrest of and extradition of Ramos Cruz was a coordinated international effort by law enforcement from the FBI, DEA, ICE, INTERPOL and Guatemalan authorities part of the so-called "Operation Take Back America" initiative in the Trump administration's crackdown on migration. The former Guatemalan politician faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
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Two Chinese nationals in California accused of illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China
By Karen Freifeld (Reuters) -Two Chinese nationals in California were arrested and charged with illegally shipping tens of millions of dollars' worth of AI chips to China, including Nvidia H100s, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, exported the advanced Nvidia chips and other technology to China from October 2022 through July 2025 without the required licenses from the U.S. Commerce Department, the Justice Department said, citing an affidavit filed with the complaint. According to the affidavit, Geng and Yang's El Monte-based company, ALX Solutions, was founded in 2022, shortly after the U.S. imposed sweeping export controls on technology to China to slow Beijing's military modernization and began to require licenses for the chips. China opposed the U.S. move as harming normal trade. Over 20 shipments from ALX went to shipping and freight forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia, which are often used as transshipment points for illegal goods to China, a federal agent, who works for the Commerce Department, said in the affidavit. ALX received a $1 million payment from a China-based company in January 2024 and other payments from companies in Hong Kong and China, not from the freight forwarding companies, the agent said. Nvidia H100s are advanced chips that can be used to train large language models and many other applications. Records show that from at least August 2023 to July 2024, ALX Solutions bought over 200 Nvidia H100 chips from San Jose, California-based server maker Super Micro Computer, declaring that the customers were in Singapore and Japan, the agent said. On one 2023 invoice valued at $28,453,855, ALX said the customer was in Singapore, but a U.S. export control officer in Singapore could not verify the chips arrived in the country and the company did not exist at the listed location, the document says. "This case demonstrates that smuggling is a nonstarter," a Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement. "We primarily sell our products to well-known help us ensure that all sales comply with U.S. export control rules." Diverted products have "no service, support or updates," the statement added. Super Micro said in a statement it was "firmly committed to compliance with all U.S. export control regulations." It said it did not comment on ongoing legal matters, but cooperated with authorities in any such proceedings. Geng and Yang appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, the Justice Department said. Geng, a permanent resident, was released on $250,000 bond. Yang, who overstayed her visa, has a detention hearing on August 12. Lawyers for the defendants did not respond to requests for comment.
Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Miami Herald
US charges Chinese nationals with Nvidia chips export breach
Two Chinese nationals were arrested this week on charges that they sent tens of millions of dollars worth of advanced AI chips made by Nvidia Corp. to China in violation of U.S. export restrictions, according to authorities. The defendants used a company based in El Monte, California, to export sensitive technology, including graphics processing units, used in artificial intelligence without obtaining the necessary government licenses, the Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday. According to a criminal complaint provided by the agency, the two individuals shipped Nvidia-designed chips, including the company's H100 AI accelerators, which are the basis for computers used to create and run artificial intelligence software. Such chips require official approval for sales to certain countries. The accused were identified by authorities as Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte. They have been charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act and could face as much as 20 years in prison, according to the Justice Department. Lawyers for the Geng and Yang couldn't be immediately located for comment. "This case demonstrates that smuggling is a nonstarter," Nvidia said in a statement. The company said it primarily sells its products to well-known partners "who help us ensure that all sales comply with U.S. export control rules." "Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support or updates," Nvidia said. Over the past several years, the U.S. has steadily tightened restrictions on exports of semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to keep China from gaining ground in the race for AI dominance. The Trump administration is exploring ways to include enhanced location-tracking in AI chips to help with export control enforcement. Up until being superseded earlier this year by a new line of products from Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia, the H100s were considered the most capable such processors. Their export to China and other countries the U.S. has deemed a threat to national security requires licenses from the Commerce Department that are not usually given. In the complaint, authorities called the H100 "the most powerful GPU chip on the market" and claimed the defendants sought to evade U.S. export restrictions on it by shipping through third countries. The Justice Department said Geng and Yang operated a company called ALX Solutions Inc. that was founded in 2022 shortly after the U.S. Commerce Department began requiring licenses to sell such chips to overseas buyers. Export records and other business documents indicate that the company sent at least 20 shipments to shipping and freight-forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia but never received payments from those entities, the Justice Department said. ALX Solutions instead received "numerous payments" from companies based in Hong Kong and China, including a $1 million payment from a China-based company in January 2024, the DOJ said. Those records show that in December 2024, the company had sent a shipment of GPUs that it claimed was in compliance with U.S. export rules, the DOJ said, but neither ALX Solutions nor the defendants had received the U.S. licenses required for such a transaction. Authorities said they searched the ALX Solutions office and seized phones belonging to Geng and Yang and found evidence of communications about shipping chips covered by export controls to China through Malaysia in violation of U.S. restrictions. Yang was also accused of overstaying her visa, according to the Justice Department. Geng is a legal permanent resident, authorities said. A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday ordered Geng released on a $250,000 bond and scheduled a detention hearing for Yang on Aug. 12. The court did not take any pleas in the case. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is assisting the probe, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. -With assistance from Ian King. (Updates with comment from Nvidia in sixth paragraph.) Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
