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Federal prosecutors arrested Greg Lui, owner of Earthmade Computer in California, on October 1 for smuggling servers containing $300 million worth of Nvidia AI chips to China without necessary US export licenses from 2023 to 2024. The authorities accuse him of using false paperwork and third countries like Malaysia and Singapore as transit points to evade US national security concerns about advanced chip exports to China. Lui faces charges including conspiracy to violate US export controls, outbound smuggling, and money laundering, with potential sentences totaling over 20 years in prison if convicted.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On October 1, Greg Lui, a 38-year-old tech CEO from San Gabriel, California, was arrested by federal agents on charges of smuggling more than $300 million worth of Nvidia AI chips to China in violation of U.S. export controls. Prosecutors allege that Lui, owner and founder of Earthmade Computers, worked with unnamed co-conspirators between 2023 and 2024 to send the restricted servers through third countries like Malaysia and Singapore to evade necessary US licenses. The FBI and Department of Commerce conducted a raid on Earthmade's headquarters in City of Industry, arresting Lui at gunpoint as he arrived for work.
Lui faces multiple charges including conspiracy to violate U.S. export controls, outbound smuggling, and money laundering, each carrying significant penalties if convicted. His arrest highlights ongoing concerns about the potential misuse of advanced American technology by China, which could aid its military capabilities. Similar cases have been prosecuted recently, such as one involving a co-founder of Super Micro Computer who faced similar charges in March but pleaded not guilty.
Written for “US-China Chip Smuggling Arrests” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Man charged by US with illegally shipping Nvidia chips to China
AI generated
asserted
Man → charge → China
Federal prosecutors arrested a California man on Oct 1 on charges of smuggling computer servers containing US$300 million (S$384.49 million) worth of Nvidia artificial intelligence chips to China in violation of US export controls.
asserted
prosecutors → arrest → controls
The authorities said that Greg Lui, the owner of privately held Earthmade Computer, worked with other unidentified co-conspirators from 2023 to 2024 to ship servers containing the restricted chips to buyers in China without the required US licences.
asserted
Lui → say → licences
The charges against Lui mark the latest in a series of federal prosecutions of individuals accused of violating export controls aimed at keeping advanced US-made chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns.
asserted
charges → mark → concerns
In March, the authorities charged a co-founder of Super Micro Computer with illegally diverting billions of dollars in Nvidia chips to China.
asserted
authorities → charge → China
He pleaded not guilty.
asserted
He → plead → ?
Lui, 38, was expected to be arraigned later in the day, the Justice Department said in a statement.
asserted
Department → expect → statement
He is facing one count each of conspiracy to violate US export controls, outbound smuggling and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the agency said.
asserted
agency → face → laundering
Prosecutors argued in a court filing that Lui should be detained without bail because of a “serious risk” he would flee if released.
asserted
he → argue → risk
“This defendant allegedly used false paperwork and shipments through third countries to smuggle more than US$300 million in export-controlled computer servers to China,” said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli in Los Angeles.
uncertain
Essayli → use → Angeles
“We will aggressively prosecute those who put our national security at risk for profit.”
asserted
who → prosecute → profit
The Justice Department said that Lui and others exported the equipment initially to Malaysia and Singapore, jurisdictions that do not require licences for the purchases of advanced AI chips from US companies.
asserted
that → say → companies
The servers were then shipped to the ultimate buyers in China, according to the agency.
uncertain
servers → ship → agency
Lui arranged for the sales of the servers knowing that the chips they contained were subject to US export curbs, the prosecutors alleged.
asserted
prosecutors → arrange → curbs
As part of the scheme, the authorities said, Lui and his co-conspirators provided false documentation to US manufacturers that misrepresented the final destination of the products.
asserted
that → say → products
In one purchase order, Lui obtained 27 servers from an unidentified US manufacturer containing Nvidia H100 GPUs for approximately $7.6 million, prosecutors said.
asserted
prosecutors → obtain → million
The charges were announced jointly by federal prosecutors, the FBI and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees US export-control programmes.
asserted
which → announce → programmes
If convicted of all the charges, Lui could face more than 20 years in prison, the Justice Department said.
uncertain
Department → convict → prison
The court docket did not provide information on lawyer representation for Lui.
Nvidia representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
asserted
representatives → provide → comment
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