Photo via Techicy
In October 2026, the owner of a Southern California technology firm was arrested on federal charges accusing him of smuggling more than $300 million in computer servers restricted by U.S. export controls to China, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Arrest
Greg Lui, 38, who also goes by "Yiu Kong Lui" and lives in San Gabriel, California, was taken into custody under a three-count federal indictment handed down by a grand jury on September 29. Lui is the owner of Earthmade Computer Inc., a technology company based in the City of Industry. He made his initial court appearance and was arraigned on October 1 in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
Prosecutors allege that from 2023 to 2024, Lui and his co-conspirators used Earthmade to purchase high-end computer servers loaded with U.S.-made graphics processors (GPUs) built for advanced computing work — including Nvidia A100 and H100 chips, according to reports. U.S. law bars the sale of these chips to China without a special license.
Rather than applying for licenses, Lui allegedly filed false paperwork with U.S. manufacturers claiming the equipment was bound for buyers in Malaysia or Singapore — countries where no such license is required. From there, prosecutors say, the servers were quietly re-routed to buyers in China. Authorities allege the scheme even involved staged dummy servers meant to mislead inspectors and convoluted transshipment routes designed to hide the true destination.
In one example cited in the case, Lui allegedly submitted a purchase order in January 2024 for 27 servers worth about $7.6 million, shipped from Los Angeles County to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Two months later, a co-conspirator allegedly told a Malaysian government official the shipment had already been forwarded to a Chinese customer. Between January and October 2024, Earthmade allegedly received more than $176 million from two Malaysia-based shipping companies tied to the scheme.
The Charges
Lui faces one count of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, one count of outbound smuggling, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted on all counts, he could face a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison on the conspiracy count, 20 years on the money laundering count, and 10 years on the smuggling count. The case is being investigated by the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
Why It Matters
Federal officials say the advanced chips at the center of this alleged chip smuggling operation could significantly boost the military capabilities of other nations — which is why U.S. export controls restrict them. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the defendant allegedly used false paperwork and shipments through third countries to smuggle more than $300 million in export-controlled computer servers to China. The FBI said Lui allegedly sold the Chinese government hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of American technology in violation of U.S. export control laws.
It is important to remember that an indictment is merely an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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