The U.S. Department of Justice has charged two California residents, Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, with conspiring to export tens of millions of dollars’ worth of advanced Nvidia AI chips to China without the required licenses, in violation of U.S. export controls imposed in 2022. Prosecutors say the pair used their El Monte-based company, ALX Solutions Inc., to ship the chips between October 2022 and July 2025. Court filings allege the defendants bought more than 200 Nvidia H100 GPUs from server maker Super Micro Computer and falsely declared end-customers in Singapore and Japan. At least 20 shipments were routed through freight forwarders in Singapore and Malaysia—common trans-shipment hubs—before reaching China. An invoice from 2023 listed goods worth $28.5 million, and investigators traced a separate $1 million wire transfer from a mainland Chinese firm in early 2024. Geng, a lawful permanent U.S. resident, was released on a $250,000 bond after an initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles. Yang, who overstayed her visa, remains in custody pending an Aug. 12 detention hearing. Both are charged under the Export Control Reform Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Nvidia said the case shows that attempts to divert its products are “a nonstarter,” noting that unauthorized chips receive no service or software support. Super Micro stated it is committed to complying with U.S. export regulations and is cooperating with authorities.