DOJ detains two in Nvidia chip smuggling
The Justice Department said Monday it detained Fanyue 'Tom' Gong, 43, of Brooklyn, and Benlin Yuan, 58, of Mississauga, Ontario, for allegedly conspiring to smuggle export‑controlled Nvidia H100/H200 AI chips to China as part of 'Operation Gatekeeper.' Prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas said authorities seized over $50 million in GPUs bound for China and other restricted locations and linked the case to a prior October guilty plea by Houston businessman Alan Hao Hsu and Hao Global LLC over attempts to export at least $160 million in such chips.
📌 Key Facts
- Defendants: Fanyue 'Tom' Gong (Chinese citizen in NYC) and Benlin Yuan (Chinese‑born Canadian in Mississauga) detained
- Seizure: $50+ million in GPUs seized; alleged destination China and other restricted locales
- Prior case: Alan Hao Hsu and Hao Global LLC pleaded guilty in October over $160 million in controlled H100/H200 exports; Hsu sentencing set for Feb. 18
- Charges: Yuan charged with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act (up to 20 years); Gong charged with conspiracy to smuggle goods (up to 10 years)
- Operation: DOJ investigation dubbed 'Operation Gatekeeper' led by the Southern District of Texas
📊 Relevant Data
From February 2021 to December 2024, more than 60 CCP-related espionage cases have been documented across 20 US states.
THREAT SNAPSHOT: CCP Espionage, Repression on US Soil is Growing — U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security
There have been 224 reported instances of Chinese espionage directed at the United States from 2000 to 2023, while Chinese Americans constitute approximately 1.6% of the US population (about 5.5 million out of 337 million).
Survey of Chinese Espionage in the United States Since 2000 — Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
About 80% of all economic espionage prosecutions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice allege conduct that would benefit the Chinese state.
Information About the Department of Justice's China Initiative and a Compilation of China-Related Prosecutions Since 2018 — U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductor technologies to China aim to restrict the People's Republic of China's access to these technologies to curb its military modernization and technological advancement.
U.S. Export Controls and China: Advanced Semiconductors — Congressional Research Service