TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa-based business named “Janford Realtor, LLC” never listed a home or closed a sale. Instead, federal prosecutors say the company was merely a shell used to funnel restricted, high-powered NVIDIA computer chips to China.
On Wednesday, federal authorities unsealed charges against four men—two U.S. citizens and two Chinese nationals—accused of conspiring to bypass strict export controls. The indictment alleges the group moved nearly $3.9 million worth of advanced technology through intermediaries in Southeast Asia to aid China’s artificial intelligence and military ambitions.
The operation, which authorities say ran from September 2023 through this month, spanned the United States. Arrests were made in Florida, Alabama, and California…