Greg Lui $300 Million China Tech Case: DOJ Alleges Secret AI Server Shipments

Greg Lui Faces Federal Charges

Greg Lui is facing federal charges after U.S. prosecutors accused the California technology executive of helping smuggle more than $300 million worth of export-controlled computer servers containing advanced U.S.-made GPUs to China.

The Justice Department announced Lui’s arrest on October 1, 2026. Prosecutors allege that the 38-year-old San Gabriel resident used his company, Earthmade Computer Inc., to purchase restricted technology and route it through countries including Malaysia and Singapore before it allegedly reached China.

The case highlights the growing importance of U.S. controls on advanced computing technology and the challenges authorities face in preventing restricted chips from reaching destinations where Washington says they could have national-security implications.

The allegations remain unproven. An indictment is not a conviction, and Greg Lui is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

What Prosecutors Say Happened

According to the federal indictment, Greg Lui owned Earthmade Computer Inc., a technology company based in the City of Industry in California.

Prosecutors allege that from 2023 through 2024, Lui and unidentified co-conspirators purchased high-end computer servers containing U.S.-manufactured graphics processing units, or GPUs.

Rather than directly sending the equipment to China, prosecutors say the group used a more complicated route.

The servers were allegedly shipped first to countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. From there, the equipment was allegedly re-exported to China without the required U.S. licenses.

The Justice Department says Lui knew the actual destination of the technology was China despite documents allegedly identifying other destinations and end users.

Why the Technology Matters

The technology at the center of the case is not ordinary computer equipment.

The servers allegedly contained advanced Nvidia GPUs, including the A100 and H100 models. These processors are widely used for demanding artificial-intelligence and high-performance-computing workloads.

The Justice Department says certain high-end GPUs are subject to export controls because of their potential contribution to advanced computing and military capabilities.

U.S. officials have increasingly treated advanced AI hardware as a strategic technology.

That makes cases such as the Greg Lui prosecution part of a much larger effort by Washington to control the international movement of sophisticated computing equipment.

The Malaysia and Singapore Route

One of the most important elements of the allegations is the use of third countries.

According to prosecutors, some shipments were sent from the United States to Malaysia or Singapore because those destinations did not require the same export license for the specific technology.

The indictment alleges that the servers were subsequently moved from those countries into China.

Prosecutors say this allowed the alleged operation to disguise the ultimate destination of the restricted technology.

The Justice Department described the alleged use of third-country shipments and false paperwork as an effort to conceal the true destination of the servers.

A $7.6 Million Server Order

The indictment includes a specific example involving 27 servers.

According to prosecutors, Lui submitted a purchase order in January 2024 for 27 servers valued at approximately $7.614 million.

The servers were allegedly shipped from the Los Angeles area to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The packing documentation reportedly identified the equipment as containing export-controlled GPUs.

Prosecutors then allege that a co-conspirator communicated with a Malaysian official in March 2024 and indicated that the 27 servers had been shipped onward to a buyer in China.

The example is part of the evidence prosecutors say demonstrates how the alleged transshipment operation worked.

More Than $176 Million in Payments

Financial records are another important part of the government’s allegations.

The Justice Department says Earthmade received more than $176 million from two Malaysia-based shipping companies between January and October 2024.

Prosecutors allege that the payments were connected to the shipment of the restricted servers.

The financial allegations help explain why the government has included a money-laundering conspiracy charge alongside the export-control and smuggling allegations.

The case therefore involves more than questions about where computer servers traveled. It also involves allegations about how the transactions were structured and financed.

What Charges Does Greg Lui Face?

The federal indictment contains three counts.

Greg Lui is charged with:

• Conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and Export Administration Regulations
• Outbound smuggling
• Conspiracy to commit money laundering

The Justice Department says the export-control conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy each carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison, while the smuggling charge carries a maximum of 10 years. Those are statutory maximums, not predictions of what sentence would be imposed if there were a conviction.

Authorities Say National Security Is at Stake

Federal officials have described the investigation in national-security terms.

The Justice Department said advanced computing technology can have implications for military capabilities and emphasized the government’s intention to enforce export restrictions.

FBI officials similarly said controlling advanced technology exports is important to protecting U.S. national security and economic interests.

The case comes at a time when Washington and Beijing remain involved in a broader technology competition.

Semiconductors and AI computing systems have become increasingly important in that relationship, with U.S. export rules restricting certain advanced technologies from being sold or transferred to China without government authorization.

The Nvidia Connection

The case also puts Nvidia’s technology at the center of another export-control investigation.

The indictment alleges that servers containing Nvidia GPUs were among the equipment involved.

Nvidia has said it cooperates with law enforcement and does not support illegal diversion of its technology. Reuters and other reporting have noted that the company has faced continuing scrutiny over efforts to prevent restricted chips from reaching China through indirect channels.

The allegations against Lui do not mean Nvidia itself is accused of wrongdoing in this case.

Instead, the investigation concerns how technology sold through commercial channels allegedly moved beyond its permitted destination.

A Wider Challenge for U.S. Export Controls

The Greg Lui case illustrates a difficult problem for U.S. policymakers.

Export controls can restrict direct sales to certain destinations, but international supply chains can involve manufacturers, distributors, freight companies, warehouses and buyers in multiple countries.

That creates opportunities for sophisticated attempts to disguise a product’s ultimate destination.

The Justice Department alleges that the defendants exploited this complexity by using third countries and misleading documentation.

The case will now provide prosecutors with an opportunity to present evidence supporting those claims in federal court.

What Happens Next?

Lui was arrested in California and was expected to make an initial federal court appearance in Los Angeles.

As of the latest reporting, court records did not indicate that he had entered a guilty plea, and available reports did not identify an attorney representing him.

The government’s case will have to be tested through the federal court process.

Prosecutors will need to prove the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt if the case proceeds to trial.

The FBI, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service are involved in the investigation.

Why the Case Could Matter Beyond One Company

The Greg Lui prosecution comes at a significant moment for the global AI industry.

Advanced GPUs have become some of the most strategically important components in the technology sector. Governments want access to the computing power needed for AI development, while also trying to prevent sensitive technology from reaching geopolitical competitors.

That tension has made export enforcement increasingly important.

For American technology companies, the case is another reminder that compliance requirements can extend beyond the immediate customer and destination listed on a sales document.

For federal authorities, it demonstrates the challenge of tracking sophisticated equipment through international supply chains.

The Bigger Picture

The allegations against Greg Lui are part of a broader U.S. effort to prevent restricted advanced computing technology from being diverted to China.

Prosecutors allege that more than $300 million in computer servers were moved through third countries before reaching Chinese buyers. They also allege that false documentation, international shipping arrangements and large financial transactions were used in the process.

But the legal outcome has not yet been determined.

The charges are allegations, and Lui remains presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the case in court.

What happens next will be closely watched by the technology industry, export-control experts and U.S. national-security officials because the case touches on one of the defining issues of the AI era: who can access the world’s most advanced computing technology, and how governments can control where that technology ultimately goes.

Important News Takeaway

The Greg Lui case involves federal allegations that more than $300 million worth of export-controlled computer servers containing U.S.-made GPUs were illegally routed to China through Malaysia and Singapore. Lui faces three federal charges, while the Justice Department says the alleged scheme involved false documentation and more than $176 million in payments to Earthmade. The allegations have not been proven in court.

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