| Date | 3 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Region | China & Restricted |
Three defendants face smuggling and export-control charges after allegedly routing $170 million in Commerce Control List servers through Thai front companies while signing false end-user certifications.
IN BRIEF: Stanley Yi Zheng, Matthew Kelly, and Tommy Shad English were charged on March 20, 2026, in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiring to obtain 750 computer servers containing export-controlled chips from a California hardware firm for diversion to China through Thailand, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
RECORD:
Date: March 25, 2026
Beat: Chip-War Control Ledger + Security & Exploits + Chips & Semiconductors
Jurisdiction: United States (Northern District of Georgia; Northern District of California; District of New Jersey)
Entity: Stanley Yi Zheng; Matthew Kelly; Tommy Shad English
Instrument / cite: Criminal complaints issued March 20, 2026, Northern District of Georgia; Press Release Number 26-285
Source type: Department of Justice press release
Confidence: reported
Record ID: N/A
Primary Source: DOJ
Stanley Yi Zheng, Matthew Kelly, and Tommy Shad English have been charged with conspiring to commit smuggling and export control violations by seeking millions of dollars’ worth of export-controlled computer chips from a California-based computer hardware company for illegal shipment to China through Thailand.
According to the criminal complaints and other information presented in court, the three defendants began conspiring in or about May 2023 to obtain computer servers containing export-controlled chips and to route them via Thailand-based companies while intending diversion to China.
In October 2023, English, purporting to act on behalf of a Thailand-based company, ordered 750 computer servers for approximately $170 million from the California firm, designated Company-1. Of those 750 servers, 600 contained a computer chip controlled on the U.S. Commerce Control List that required a license for export to China. English signed an Advanced Computing Certification stating the servers were not destined for China or any other country subject to heightened export requirements.
In January 2024, English transferred more than $20 million to Company-1 as partial payment. When Company-1 conducted a compliance review, English requested that Zheng and Kelly be added to the email thread. Company-1 responded that Zheng’s company was based in China and that “China is an embargoed country restricted by the US government. US companies are restricted from selling to businesses or end users headquartered in China.”
In early February 2024, the California-based manufacturer of the chips destined for 600 of the servers, designated Company-2, conducted further end-user verification in Thailand. Those efforts failed, and the October 2023 order was not completed.
While that transaction stalled, English in April 2024 sought to order another 500 servers containing an export-controlled chip from Company-1, this time on behalf of a second Thailand-based company. He signed an End User Certification identifying that Thai firm as the end user. The second order also failed to close.
Text messages recovered in the investigation showed the defendants discussing “fake” corporate niceties to complete the purchases, the market value of the chips in China, and recruitment of additional participants. In a June 2023 group chat titled “GPU Partnership,” Kelly wrote that the supplier needed more details about the company, customers, and revenue; English replied, “I’m not breaking my back. I fake these weeks ago.” In July 2023, Zheng messaged about the market value of Company-2’s chips in China. In March 2024, Kelly circulated a draft solicitation stating the group had “a few customers in China but it’s a banned country for distribution” and seeking partners to act as pass-throughs; Zheng replied, “DO NOT MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT CHINA,” explaining that such references would “draw attention[] from US government for embargo[] violation.”
Zheng, 56, of Hong Kong, China, was arrested on March 22, 2026, and appeared the next day before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa J. Cisneros in the Northern District of California. Kelly, 49, of Hopewell Junction, New York, and English, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, surrendered on March 25, 2026. The criminal complaints were issued in the Northern District of Georgia on March 20, 2026. The charges remain accusations; the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecution is led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Brett Ruff of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The case demonstrates that false end-user certifications and Thai intermediary entities remain active vectors for attempted diversion of Commerce Control List advanced-computing hardware. Founders and investors in AI infrastructure and semiconductor supply chains face heightened scrutiny of customer due-diligence processes and certification integrity when dealing with high-value GPU server orders.