4 people indicted in alleged plot to smuggle Nvidia supercomputers and chips into China
Stern said text messages obtained by authorities show Li boasting about how his father “engaged in similar affairs on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.” Stern said the messages also showed that Li, who works at a hardware distribution company, knew from news articles he shared that Nvidia chips were subject to export controls. “He explained that his father had ways of importing them,” Stern said, again citing Li’s text messages.
Stern told the court that Li “admitted to various facts” during questioning by federal agents Wednesday that implicated him.
The defendants face various charges related to violating export control laws and a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Ho and Raymond did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent to LinkedIn accounts allegedly belonging to them. Public defenders for Chen and Li declined to comment.
Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo said in a statement that “even small aftermarket sales of older generation products are subject to strict scrutiny and scrutiny” and that “attempting to cobble together data centers from contraband products is a failure, both technically and economically.”
Corvex, an AI cloud computing company that Raymond consulted for, said in a statement that she had rescinded a job offer to join the company full time and had no connection to the alleged wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, the US Department of Commerce reportedly considered restricting the sale of advanced chips to Malaysia and Thailand to combat chip smuggling, but regulations have not yet been finalized. The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Magistrate Judge Westmore ordered Li to hire an attorney because she said he had significant equity in a San Leandro, Calif., home and other assets, making him ineligible for a public defender. The magistrate also set a hearing for Tuesday to decide whether Li poses a significant flight risk and should continue to be detained. He holds a US green card and Hong Kong citizenship.
Li, wearing glasses, flip-flops and a black windbreaker, nodded in response to some of Westmore’s statements but did not speak. Kaitlyn Fryzek, his temporary public defender, said Li planned to marry a U.S. citizen. “His motivation is to stay and marry his fiancée,” Fryzek said.
