Three charged for chip smuggling

The unsealed indictment names Yih‑Shyan “Wally” Liaw (71), Ruei‑Tsang “Steven” Chang (53), and Ting‑Wei “Willy” Sun (44); Liaw is a U.S. citizen and Supermicro co‑founder and senior vice president, Chang is a Taiwan‑based sales manager, and Sun is described as a third‑party broker. (nbcnews.com) Liaw and Sun were arrested on March 19, 2026, and are to be presented in the Northern District of California, while Chang remains a fugitive, according to the Department of Justice. (justice.gov) Prosecutors say the defendants funneled roughly $2.5 billion in purchase orders to a Southeast Asia “Company‑1” between 2024 and 2025, then repackaged shipments so about $510 million worth of servers with controlled GPUs reached final destinations in China. (abcnews.com) (nbcnews.com) The indictment details tactics prosecutors allege were used to evade export controls: false documents, staged non‑functional “dummy” servers to fool compliance audits, encrypted messaging to script fake responses, and convoluted transshipment and repackaging through a logistics firm. (justice.gov) (media.washtimes.com) Federal filings say the servers contained Nvidia B200 and H200 GPUs, models the U.S. restricts for direct export to China without a government license. (nbcnews.com) (justice.gov) Each defendant faces a count of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act (a charge carrying up to 20 years in prison) plus counts of conspiring to smuggle goods and to defraud the United States (each carrying up to five years), according to the indictment. (nbcnews.com) (media.washtimes.com) Supermicro said it was not charged but placed Liaw and Chang on administrative leave and cut ties with Sun, Liaw resigned from the company board, and the company named DeAnna Luna acting chief compliance officer as shares fell about 33% and Liaw’s holdings were reported at roughly $464 million. (crn.com) (cnbc.com)