* DOJ says two people were arrested, third remains

fugitive

* One of the people charged co-founded Super Micro

Computer Inc ( SMCI )

* Indictment was unsealed on Thursday

By Kanishka Singh and Karen Freifeld

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - Three people associated

with AI-optimized server maker Super Micro Computer Inc ( SMCI )

, including its co-founder, were charged with conspiring

to unlawfully divert U.S. artificial intelligence technology to

China, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

The FBI said Yih-Shyan Liaw, Ruei-Tsang Chang, and Ting-Wei

Sun "allegedly conspired to sell billions of dollars worth of

servers integrating sensitive, controlled graphic processing

units to buyers in China, in violation of U.S. export control

laws." Many high-performance AI computer servers are made with

Nvidia ( NVDA ) chips, some of which are subject to export

controls.

San Jose, California-based Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) said it was

informed by federal prosecutors of the indictment on Thursday

and that the company itself was not named as a defendant in it.

The company also said it placed Liaw and Chang on leave and

terminated its ties with Sun, who was a contractor. Super

Micro's shares were down 8% after the news.

Liaw co-founded Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) in 1993, and joined its

board of directors in 2023.

The DOJ accused the three people of participating in a

systematic scheme to divert large quantities of AI technology to

customers in China.

The DOJ statement did not mention Super Micro by name.

It, however, said Liaw is a "co-founder, board member, and

senior vice president of business development of a publicly

traded U.S.-based manufacturer that designs and builds

high-performance computer servers for artificial intelligence

and cloud computing applications, including servers that

integrate artificial intelligence graphics processing units

(GPUs)."

Chang was a sales manager in the Taiwan office of Super

Micro Computer ( SMCI ), while Sun was a contractor.

The DOJ indictment was unsealed on Thursday in a Manhattan

federal court. The DOJ said Liaw, a U.S. citizen, and Sun, a

citizen of Taiwan, were arrested on Thursday while Chang, a

citizen of Taiwan, remains a fugitive.

"Together, the defendants and others conspired to

systematically divert the U.S. manufacturer's servers with

certain GPUs to China without a license to do so from the U.S.

Department of Commerce," the U.S. DOJ said.

The defendants allegedly fabricated documents, staged bogus

equipment to pass audit inventories, and used a pass-through

company to conceal misconduct and true clientele lists, the DOJ

said.

Super Micro said it was cooperating with the government's

probe.

"The conduct by these individuals alleged in the indictment

is a contravention of the company's policies and compliance

controls, including efforts to circumvent applicable export

control laws and regulations," Super Micro said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, additional reporting

by Karen Freifeld and Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Michelle

Nichols and Lincoln Feast.)