More than $300 million in export-controlled servers containing U.S.-manufactured GPUs allegedly left the United States for China, routed through Malaysia and Singapore on falsified paperwork. Federal prosecutors arrested Greg Lui, 38, also known as Yiu Kong Lui, of San Gabriel, California, on three criminal counts that carry up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Lui owns Earthmade Computer Inc., a technology company based in the City of Industry, California. Prosecutors allege he and unidentified co-conspirators used the company to procure advanced AI servers and ship them to China without the export licenses required by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The Alleged Scheme
Prosecutors say Lui’s company used third-country routing and false documentation to move hundreds of millions in controlled hardware toward Chinese buyers.
According to the indictment, the operation ran from 2023 through 2024. Servers were allegedly purchased, then shipped first to Malaysia and Singapore, where prosecutors say the transactions were structured to avoid triggering U.S. license requirements.
Paperwork allegedly misrepresented the intended end users and final destinations, making the shipments appear eligible for export without a license. The hardware was then allegedly re-exported to Chinese buyers.
The indictment further alleges that Earthmade received more than $176 million from two Malaysia-based companies tied to those shipments between January and October 2024. That figure is an allegation in the charging document, not a judicial finding.
Lui faces three federal charges:
- Conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and Export Administration Regulations
- Outbound smuggling
- Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Actual sentencing, if convicted, would depend on counts of conviction, applicable guidelines, and other factors. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on September 29, 2026.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the defendant allegedly used false paperwork and third-country shipments to move more than $300 million in export-controlled servers to China, according to the Justice Department announcement.
Broader Enforcement Context
Three federal agencies joined the investigation, and a separate Taiwan case from August 2026 suggests the enforcement net is expanding across the supply chain.
The investigation drew resources from the FBI, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
DCIS Special Agent in Charge John E. Helsing framed the stakes plainly. “Preventing the illegal export of controlled technology is critical to protecting our national security,” Helsing said, adding that such technologies provide “core advantages” to U.S. forces.
The California case is not isolated. In August 2026, Taiwanese prosecutors charged nine people in a separate alleged smuggling operation, including an Nvidia Taiwan employee and two Super Micro employees. That case involved 130 servers allegedly routed through Indonesia, Japan, and Hong Kong toward Chinese customers, with 74 reportedly delivered.
Taken together, the two cases suggest enforcement is extending beyond chip manufacturers to distributors, company personnel, and parties responsible for end-user and destination representations. That inference is based on the entities named across both cases, not an announced policy change.
For distributors and resellers operating across Southeast Asian markets, federal exposure now follows the paperwork chain as directly as it follows the hardware. Companies that certify end users or final destinations face the same scrutiny as those moving the equipment itself.
