Two Chinese nationals in California accused of illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China
Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, are accused of operating a company, ALX Solutions Inc, that facilitated more than 20 illegal shipments between October 2022 and July 2025, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this week.
EXPORT CONTROLS VIOLATED
The complaint alleges that ALX Solutions was established in 2022, shortly after the US imposed sweeping export controls restricting the sale of certain high-performance chips and technologies to China. The rules require exporters to obtain licenses from the US Commerce Department.
Instead, Geng and Yang are accused of routing the chips through third-party shipping and freight forwarding firms in Singapore and Malaysia, common transshipment points for goods illegally destined for China.
The Department of Justice said one China-based company paid ALX Solutions US$1 million in January 2024. Additional funds reportedly came from businesses in Hong Kong and mainland China, rather than the listed freight forwarding intermediaries.
ADVANCED AI CHIPS SHIPPED
The illegally exported items included Nvidia's H100 chips, which are among the most advanced semiconductors available and can be used for training large language models, powering autonomous vehicles, and running complex medical diagnostic systems.
Records show ALX Solutions purchased over 200 Nvidia H100 chips from Super Micro Computer, a San Jose-based server manufacturer, between August 2023 and July 2024. The end users were falsely declared as being in Singapore and Japan.
A spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment on the case, while Super Micro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the H100s, Geng and Yang allegedly exported Nvidia's PNY GE Force RTX 4090 graphics cards, another high-performance component that also requires a license for export to China under current US restrictions.
COURT APPEARANCE IN LOS ANGELES
Both defendants appeared in US District Court in Los Angeles late Monday. Geng, who holds permanent residency in the United States, was released on a US$250,000 bond. Yang, who allegedly overstayed her visa, remains in custody and is scheduled for a detention hearing on August 12.
The charges come amid heightened scrutiny of illegal technology transfers to China, as the US intensifies efforts to restrict Beijing's access to advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence hardware that could have military or strategic applications.
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