Super Micro contractor pleads guilty in Nvidia AI chip rerouting scheme

A former contractor for Super Micro Computer Inc. has admitted his part in a scheme to move Nvidia-powered AI servers into China. Ting-Wei ‘Willy’ Sun pleaded guilty on October 9, 2026, in a New York federal court to charges tied to violations of US export controls. How the alleged scheme worked The indictment lays out what prosecutors describe as a conspiracy spanning several years. At its center: approximately $2.5 billion worth of Supermicro servers allegedly sold to a company in Southeast Asia. That buyer was, according to the indictment, less of a final destination and more of a layover. Servers were allegedly rerouted through the Southeast Asian entity and on to customers in China. The pace picked up sharply at one point. Prosecutors allege that more than $510 million worth of servers went to Chinese customers in a three-week window running from late April to mid-May 2025. The methods described in the case are decidedly low-tech for a high-tech crime. Servers were allegedly repackaged in unmarked boxes, and false paperwork was allegedly created to mislead US authorities about where the equipment was really headed. The hardware at issue is not ordinary office kit. The concerns...