A Southern California technology company owner was arrested and charged in a federal indictment unsealed in October 2026. He allegedly masterminded a massive smuggling ring that funneled more than $300 million worth of restricted computer hardware to China. Greg Lui, 38, of San Gabriel, California, operated Earthmade Computer Inc. out of the City of Industry. He used a complex web of foreign front companies and false documentation to bypass strict U.S. export controls.
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According to the federal indictment filed in the Central District of California, Lui and his co-conspirators systematically deceived U.S. manufacturers between 2023 and 2024. The accused purchased high-end computer servers equipped with advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) manufactured by companies like Nvidia-specifically models such as the A100 and H100-which are critical for driving heavy artificial intelligence and super intelligence data center workloads.
The Transshipment Loophole Through Malaysia and Singapore
U.S. federal regulations strictly forbid the export of high-performance artificial intelligence microchips to China without a specialized export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These laws are designed to protect national security and prevent foreign adversaries from leveraging American innovation to bolster military capabilities.
To circumvent these statutory barriers, Lui allegedly disguised the true destination of the tech shipments. Prosecutors state that Lui and his network falsely claimed the high-end servers were bound for permissible commercial end-users in Malaysia and Singapore. These nations are exempt from rigorous export licensing mandates. Once the hardware arrived safely in Kuala Lumpur and other Southeast Asian logistics hubs, local transshipment companies re-routed the servers directly to Chinese buyers.
“This defendant allegedly used false paperwork and shipments through third countries to smuggle more than $300 million in export-controlled computer servers to China. We will aggressively prosecute those who put our national security at risk for profit,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
Financial Scale and Specific Indictment Details
The scale of the illicit operation was vast. Court records show that between January 2024 and October 2024 alone, Earthmade Computer Inc. received upwards of $176 million from two separate Malaysia-based shipping entities tied to the conspiracy.
The indictment highlights concrete operational instances. This includes an email correspondence from January 2024 where Lui communicated with a conspirator about a Malaysian firm purchasing 70 export-restricted servers. Shortly thereafter, Lui submitted a purchase order to a U.S. manufacturer for 27 servers containing Nvidia H100 units valued at approximately $7.61 million. Packing lists confirmed the crates left Los Angeles for Kuala Lumpur. A co-conspirator later emailed a local government official confirming their ultimate arrival in China.
Charges and Potential Penalties
Federal prosecutors have hit Lui with a severe three-count indictment, which includes:
- One count of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and Export Administration Regulations
- One count of outbound smuggling
- One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering
If convicted across all counts, Lui faces a maximum cumulative sentence of up to 50 years in federal prison. This includes up to 20 years for the export conspiracy, 20 years for money laundering, and 10 years for outbound smuggling.
The sweeping cross-agency investigation was led jointly by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
