Ting-Wei “Willy” Sun, a contractor linked to Super Micro Computer, appeared in US District Court in Manhattan on Thursday and pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to divert servers integrated with Nvidia artificial intelligence technology to China. Prosecutors had described Sun as a “fixer” in the conspiracy.
Newly unsealed court documents set out allegations that the scheme moved approximately $2.5 billion in Nvidia A100 and H100 servers through Southeast Asian intermediaries between 2024 and 2025.
The case turns on US export controls introduced in October 2022, when Washington restricted direct exports of Nvidia H100 and A100 chips to China. The Commerce Control List also covers Nvidia’s B200, H100 and H200 graphics processing units, along with servers containing them, placing them under export restrictions.
According to the charges, the alleged conspiracy formed around 2024 and involved Sun, Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan “Wally” Liaw, and Taiwan-based sales manager Ruei-Tsang “Steven” Chang. Prosecutors accuse the defendants of using a Southeast Asian company as a pass-through entity to conceal the China-based end customers.
The Department of Justice indicted Liaw, Chang and Sun on March 19, 2026, alleging a conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act by illegally exporting restricted AI servers to China. Sun’s plea resolves his part of the case, while Liaw has denied the charge.
Liaw, who served as Super Micro’s Senior Vice President of Business Development and as a board member, entered a not guilty plea in early April 2026 and was released on a $5 million bond. Chang remains a fugitive. Trial is scheduled to begin November 2.
All three indicted individuals severed ties with Super Micro after the March indictment. Super Micro was not named as a corporate defendant.
The allegations had an immediate market effect. SMCI shares fell 33% on the day the indictment became public, erasing roughly $7 billion in market capitalisation in a single session.
An independent board investigation concluded in August 2026 that current senior management had no prior knowledge of the alleged diversion scheme. The investigation also found that Charles Liang, Super Micro’s chief executive, had no prior knowledge of it.
Liaw was a co-founder of Super Micro, a company described as a $39 billion-revenue supplier of AI infrastructure. The prosecution comes as the United States and China invest billions of dollars in artificial intelligence, which both view as important to economic growth, national security, and military and cybersecurity capabilities. Washington has tightened controls on sales of advanced AI chips and server systems to China without a licence.
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