California Man Indicted in $300M Scheme Smuggling Nvidia AI Servers to China via Malaysia and Singapore

A federal grand jury in California indicted Greg Lui (also known as Yiu Kong Lui), 38, of San Gabriel, on September 29, 2026, charging him with conspiracy to violate U.S. export control laws, outbound smuggling, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was arrested October 1, 2026. Prosecutors allege Lui, through his company Earthmade Computer Inc. in City of Industry, California, orchestrated the illegal export of over $300 million in high-end computer servers containing Nvidia A100 and H100 GPUs—critical for advanced AI applications—to China between late 2023 and at least mid-2026.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the scheme relied on transshipment through Malaysia and Singapore, using false documentation and front companies to evade Commerce Department licensing requirements. Earthmade allegedly received more than $176 million from two Malaysian entities in 2024 alone, with funds funneled back to purchase servers from U.S. manufacturers. Specific transactions detailed in the indictment include a January 2024 order for 27 H100 servers worth approximately $7.6 million shipped to Kuala Lumpur, later confirmed transshipped to a Hangzhou-based Chinese industrial firm, and larger orders routed via San Francisco to Hong Kong.

Lui is also accused of using purchased identities and U.S. front companies to mask buyers. The case fits a broader pattern of U.S. enforcement actions targeting evasion of export controls on advanced semiconductors amid U.S.-China technological competition. Mainstream reporting from Reuters, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, and South China Morning Post confirms the DOJ allegations, noting implications for protecting U.S. technological advantage in AI and potential impacts on global supply chains for critical infrastructure components.

The indictment highlights how third-country intermediaries facilitate circumvention, raising questions about enforcement gaps in international shipping and financial flows. No trial date has been set; Lui is presumed innocent.