Mission to smuggle $170 million worth of AI tech to China collapsed for three men
Three individuals, Stanley Yi Zheng, Matthew Kelly, and Tommy Shad English, have been charged with conspiracy to commit smuggling and export control violations after allegedly attempting to procure millions of dollars’ worth of restricted computer chips from a California-based hardware company.
In October 2023, Tommy Shad English, claiming to represent a Thailand-based company, ordered 750 computer servers worth about $170 million from a U.S. hardware firm, including 600 with export-controlled chips that require a license for shipment to China. He signed certifications stating the equipment was not intended for China or any other country subject to heightened export requirements.
By January 2024, he had paid more than $20 million toward the order and added Stanley Yi Zheng and Matthew Kelly to email discussions during a compliance review, raising concerns about Zheng’s ties to China. The chip manufacturer could not verify a legitimate end user in Thailand, and the order was not completed.
In April 2024, English sought to place a second order for 500 servers through another Thailand-based company and again certified the stated end user, but that transaction was also not completed.
“Text messages obtained through the investigation illustrated aspects of the conspiracy and revealed that Zheng, English, and Kelly discussed, among other things, ‘fake’ corporate niceties to help complete the computer chip purchases, the value of the computer chips in China, and recruiting others to participate in the scheme,” authorities said.
The FBI arrested Stanley Yi Zheng on March 22, 2026. Matthew Kelly and Tommy Shad English surrendered three days later.
“As our foreign adversaries escalate their efforts to dominate the field of artificial intelligence, we are seeing them employ increasingly brazen schemes to illegally acquire valuable U.S. technology,” noted Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.