Authorities in the United States have arrested and charged four businessmen in connection to illegal export of restricted AI Nvidia chips.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release that the consignments, worth over $160 million were destined to China and Hong.
The four businessmen arrested in connection with the syndicate are based in Florida, Alabama, and California and have independently worked to order and organize shipment of chips that are highly restricted for export.
The United States has been running “Operation Gatekeeper,” as an attempt to restrict export of certain cadres of technology tools as a way of looking after the interests of the United States.
“Operation Gatekeeper has exposed a sophisticated smuggling network that threatens our Nation’s security by funneling cutting-edge AI technology to those who would use it against American interests,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas.”
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ),Alan Hao Hsu, 43, of Missouri City, Texas, and his company, Hao Global LLC, pleaded guilty to smuggling and unlawful export activities on Oct. 10.
Together with others, Hsu had successfully exported or attempted to export at least $160 million worth of Nvidia H100 and H200 GPUs between October 2024 and May 2025.
“These chips are the building blocks of AI superiority and are integral to modern military applications. The country that controls these chips will control AI technology; the country that controls AI technology will control the future. The Southern District of Texas will aggressively prosecute anyone who attempts to compromise America’s technological edge,” Ganjei said.
If found guilty, Hsu faces up to 10 years in prison and Hao Global LLC faces a maximum penalty of twice the gross gain from the offense and a term of probation.
Also charged in relation to the scheme are Fanyue Gong, 43, a Chinese citizen residing in New York and national Benlin Yuan, 58, the chief executive officer of a Sterling, Virginia, IT services company, which is the U.S. subsidiary of a large IT company based in Beijing.
The United States continues to enforce strict control of chip-related exports as the race to be a leading force in dissemination of Artificial Intelligence tools heats up across the globe. China remains the fiercest competitor.