US federal authorities have charged and arrested the co-founder of Super Micro Computer, Inc. as part of an alleged multi-billion dollar conspiracy to smuggle advanced artificial intelligence chips from the United States to China. The Justice Department unsealed an indictment on Thursday naming Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, along with Super Micro sales executives Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang and Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun. The three individuals are accused of violating US export control laws through the unauthorized sale of sensitive technology to Chinese buyers.
Prosecutors allege the trio conspired to sell servers incorporating controlled graphic processing units to customers in China, with the total value of those transactions reaching approximately $2.5 billion across 2024 and 2025. Of that figure, roughly $510 million in sales allegedly took place between April and May 2025 alone. Authorities say the defendants went to considerable lengths to conceal the nature and destination of these transactions.
According to James Barnacle, Jr., FBI assistant director in charge of the New York Field Office, the defendants allegedly fabricated documents, staged fake equipment to pass audit inventories, and routed transactions through a pass-through company to obscure their true client list. These concealment methods, prosecutors say, were designed to circumvent US export restrictions on advanced computing hardware. The alleged scheme spanned multiple years and involved substantial coordination among the three individuals.
Super Micro is a California-based technology company valued at approximately $18.5 billion, specializing in high-performance server and data center hardware for large-scale clients such as IBM. The company counts Nvidia and Google among its infrastructure partners. Importantly, Super Micro itself was not named as a defendant in the indictment.
In a statement provided to media, Super Micro distanced itself from the accused individuals, describing their alleged conduct as a violation of company policies and compliance controls. A company spokesperson confirmed that Super Micro has been cooperating fully with the government’s investigation and intends to continue doing so. The company emphasized that it has not been charged in connection with the case.
Liaw and Sun have been arrested and are expected to appear before a judge in the Northern District of California. Chang, identified as a Taiwanese citizen residing outside the United States, has not been taken into custody and is currently considered a fugitive by the Justice Department. Authorities have not disclosed details regarding efforts to apprehend him.
The announcement had an immediate impact on Super Micro’s stock price. Shares had initially risen during regular trading hours on Thursday, but following the Justice Department’s disclosure, the stock fell 13.25% to $26.71 in after-hours trading. The sharp decline reflects investor concern over the reputational and legal implications of the charges, even though the company itself was not indicted.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
