L.A. County residents illegally exported 'sensitive' high-power AI microchips to China, feds allege

Two Los Angeles County residents face federal charges after they were arrested on suspicion of illegally exporting tens of millions of dollars' worth of artificial intelligence microchips to China, authorities said. Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena; and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, were taken into custody on Saturday for their alleged involvement in the illegal overseas export of processing units used in modern computing and artificial intelligence applications, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of California. Federal prosecutors said both were Chinese nationals, though Geng is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. Yang, however, was in the country illegally as she had overstayed her visa, according to authorities. Yaoning'Mike' Sun of Chino Hills is charged with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign power and conspiring to advance China-friendly policies in local government. In a criminal complaint, U.S. Justice Department officials alleged the pair had "knowingly and willingly" undercut federal export regulations to conceal illegal shipments to China for nearly three years.