Ting-Wei 'Willy' Sun, a former contractor for Super Micro Computer, pleaded guilty in a New York federal court on October 9, 2026. He admitted to participating in a scheme that violated US export controls by diverting servers equipped with Nvidia AI chips to China.
Prosecutors allege the conspiracy involved approximately $2.5 billion worth of Supermicro servers sold to a company in Southeast Asia, which served as a transit point. Between late April and mid-May 2025, over $510 million worth of servers were reportedly rerouted to Chinese customers.
The operation utilized unmarked packaging and falsified documentation to bypass export restrictions. The hardware included advanced Nvidia H200 and B200 AI chips, which are subject to strict US trade controls aimed at limiting China's access to high-performance computing technology.
The ongoing investigation, which began in March 2026, has led to the arrest of Supermicro co-founder Yih-Shyan 'Wally' Liaw. Another individual named in the case, sales manager Ruei-Tsang 'Steven' Chang, remains at large. Separately, Earthmade Computer CEO Greg Lui was indicted for smuggling $300 million in Nvidia chips.
Following the initial indictment in March 2026, Supermicro shares declined by approximately 30–33%. The company remains under scrutiny as authorities continue to investigate the supply chain vulnerabilities that allowed these unauthorized shipments to occur.
