Atlanta man arrested in scheme to smuggle sensitive AI chips into China, officials say
By Dan Raby
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — An Atlanta man is one of three suspects whom officials have accused of taking part in a conspiracy to smuggle sensitive artificial intelligence technology to China.
Tommy Shad English, 53, is charged with conspiring to commit smuggling and export control violations.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office of Northern Georgia, English, Stanley Yi Zheng of Hong Kong, and Matthew Kelly of Hopewell Junction, New York began working together to try to obtain export-controlled computer chips from a California company in order to ship them to China through Thailand in 2023.
Authorities say English, who pretended to be working on behalf of a Thailand-based company, ordered 750 computer servers worth around $170 million. Six hundred of those contained a computer chip that requires a license to be exported to China.
In January 2024, English transferred over $20 million to the California company and asked that Zheng and Kelly be added to the email thread about the purchase. A short time later, officials say the manufacturer of the chips reviewed the order and could not verify the company in Thailand. That eventually led to the purchase falling through.
In April 2024, authorities say English once again tried to order hundreds of computer servers containing an export-controlled computer chip, this time for another Thailand-based company. That deal was also unsuccessful.
Investigators say they found text messages between the three that showed the men discussing attempts to bring the chips to China and recruit others to the scheme.
“Protecting sensitive defense technology from diversion to foreign adversaries is a top priority,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Jason J. Sargenski of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service. “Advanced computing technologies, like Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), play a critical role in military artificial intelligence and national defense capabilities. When individuals attempt to illegally acquire or export this technology for profit, they are putting national security and our warfighters at risk.”
Zheng was arrested on March 22. The government is moving to keep him in federal custody until his trial.
Kelly and English both surrendered to federal authorities on March 25.
The investigation into the case remains ongoing.
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