Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Sunday, November 23rd.

Today on Forbes, AI founder illegally shipped Nvidia chips to China in $4 million scheme, DOJ alleges.

A U.S.-based businessman and Nvidia partner was illegally selling the chip giant's most powerful AI

processors and HP supercomputers to Chinese customers, according to a federal indictment

filed earlier this month.

Huntsville, Alabama-based Brian Raymond, founder of AI Infrastructure Company BitWorks, is

accused of allegedly working with three others to sell the chips

to unspecified Chinese companies registered in Hong Kong.

His co-defendants include two Chinese nationals and one U.S. citizen born in Hong Kong.

The DOJ claimed that in total, the men sold as many as 350 Nvidia chips and 10 HP supercomputers for nearly $4 million.

The indictment was first reported by independent outlet, Court Watch.

The Biden administration enacted laws in 2022 to require that anyone selling chips for

AI systems and supercomputers obtain a license from

the Bureau of Industry and Security, making the export of Nvidia's most powerful chips

to China near impossible. According to the DOJ, the four men sold an array of Nvidia graphics

processing units, or GPUs, including H-100s, H-200s, and A-100s.

These types of GPUs have become massively popular in AI and supercomputing applications,

and are among those that are effectively banned from export to China.

The DOJ said the alleged illegal sales began in 2023 and continued up to this month.

Forbes was unable to reach Raymond or any of the defendant's lawyers at the time of this story's

original publication Thursday. None has issued a plea and all remain innocent until proven guilty.

According to court dockets, only one has been arrested.

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