In a sweeping national security case, two Chinese nationals have been charged with illegally exporting tens of millions of dollars’ worth of U.S.-made AI microchips to China—one of them living in the country unlawfully. The case, announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice, underscores the growing threat of Chinese espionage and tech theft amid escalating geopolitical tensions with the Chinese Communist Party.

Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, allegedly used their California-based shell company, ALX Solutions Inc., to smuggle high-performance graphic processing units (GPUs) — powerful AI chips used in technologies such as autonomous vehicles and medical diagnostics — to China. The Justice Department has charged them under the Export Control Reform Act, a felony that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.

Geng voluntarily surrendered over the weekend, while Yang was arrested the same day.

The DOJ says the defendants intentionally bypassed federal export restrictions that were put in place specifically to prevent the transfer of AI and national security-related technologies to America’s top adversary: China.

According to federal prosecutors, ALX Solutions was created shortly after the Department of Commerce began requiring export licenses for these highly sensitive chips. The company allegedly shipped the components to transshipment hubs in Singapore and Malaysia — countries commonly used to mask final destinations in Communist China.

Despite declaring fake recipients and destinations, ALX Solutions never received payment from any of the listed buyers. Instead, it was reportedly funneled funds directly from China and Hong Kong, including a $1 million payment from a Chinese firm in January 2024.

In a particularly damning example, ALX submitted a December 2024 shipment that falsely declared its contents, intentionally failing to secure a license for the restricted GPUs — which prosecutors describe as “the most powerful GPU chip on the market”, designed for artificial intelligence applications.

Searches conducted last week at ALX’s El Monte office turned up communications revealing how Geng and Yang plotted to evade U.S. export laws, even explicitly discussing how to reroute chips through Malaysia to escape detection.

Meanwhile, in a separate but equally explosive development, Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a grand jury investigation into the origins of the infamous ‘Russiagate’ hoax — targeting what may be a criminal conspiracy to sabotage the 2016 campaign of now-President Donald J. Trump.

The move follows criminal referrals by DNI Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who declassified evidence suggesting that top intelligence officials in the Obama administration may have colluded to push a fabricated Trump-Russia narrative—a political hit job reportedly orchestrated by the Clinton campaign.

Fox News first broke the story, with correspondent David Spunt confirming the investigation live on-air:

“Fox News can confirm that Attorney General Pam Bondi today signed an order directing an unnamed U.S. federal prosecutor to take evidence to a grand jury relating to an alleged conspiracy to tie then 2016 candidate Donald Trump to the country of Russia,” Spunt told host Will Cain.

“A source familiar with the probe confirms this as well. While a DoJ spokesperson declined to comment... Fox is told Attorney General Bondi is taking the referrals from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ‘very seriously.’”

As the Trump administration continues to clean house and restore transparency to the intelligence community, the twin scandals — one involving the theft of sensitive U.S. technology, the other implicating senior Democrats in a weaponized misinformation campaign — highlight the immense stakes facing the country as the 2026 election looms.