US Charges Californian with Smuggling $300M in Nvidia Chips to China

“SI is the defining technology of the era.”

The arrest and the man accused: Greg Lui and Earthmade Computer Inc

Federal prosecutors arrested 38‑year‑old Greg Lui on Thursday, charging him with allegedly using his company, Earthmade Computer Inc, to smuggle high‑end Nvidia hardware to China without required U.S. export licenses. According to the indictment, the scheme began in or around October 2023 and continued until at least August 12, 2026. Lui is charged with one count each under the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, outbound smuggling, and money laundering — charges that together carry a statutory maximum prison sentence of 50 years.

The hardware at the center: A100, H100, RTX 4090 and RTX 5090 — 92 servers traced

Prosecutors say the products Lui ordered in the U.S. consisted of servers containing high‑powered Nvidia components, specifically naming A100, H100, PNY GE Force RTX 4090, and GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs. Court documents obtained by prosecutors include records tying the export of 92 servers to Kuala Lumpur from San Francisco International Airport, with Earthmade listed as the ordering party and the onward consignee from Malaysia to Hong Kong identified as a Chinese customer.

Alleged transshipment scheme through Malaysia and Singapore

The indictment alleges Lui used a combination of U.S. freight businesses and Malaysian transshipment companies to mask the hardware’s final destination. Prosecutors claim Lui received more than $176 million in payments from two Malaysian transshipment companies and, in return, introduced those firms to U.S. suppliers capable of providing Nvidia hardware — brokering the sales of almost $300 million worth of kit. The complaint describes shipments sent first to Malaysia and Singapore, countries the indictment notes do not require Commerce Department licenses for such transfers, and then forwarded to China to circumvent U.S. export controls.

Prosecutors also allege deceptive paperwork and identity manipulation: court filings assert Lui instructed a U.S. front company to fraudulently list a shipment recipient as “Jackie Lui,” identified as the supposed CEO at “Topmost,” a company registered in California by the CTO of one of the Malaysian transshipment businesses. The indictment further alleges that Lui purchased identity documents in 2021 that were used as part of the scheme.

U.S. enforcement, legal framing, and public statements

The government framed the case as an effort to protect national security by restricting the export of economically sensitive equipment. “The National Security Division will protect the American advantage in the chips that power this technology, a product of our unparalleled innovation and hard work, from illegal diversion by our economic and military adversaries,” said John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, in remarks quoted in the court filing summary.

Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director at the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, described the investigation’s findings this way: “The FBI’s investigation revealed that Lui allegedly sold the Chinese government hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of American Super Intelligence technology, in clear violation of US export control laws.” Rozhavsky added that controlling advanced SI technology is “critical to safeguarding our national security and defending the homeland,” and praised interagency and private‑sector partners for their assistance.

The Register contacted Earthmade and Nvidia for comment, according to the reporting.

What this means for technologists, policymakers, and procurement leaders

• Technologists and security teams: Expect closer scrutiny of supply‑chain records and export paperwork where high‑end accelerators are involved; the court documents here cite specific server exports and consignee records tied back to a U.S. airport manifest.
• Policymakers and regulators: The indictment reinforces enforcement of the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations — the government highlights use of transshipment to countries that do not require Commerce Department licenses as a focal point for interdiction and prosecution.
• Procurement leaders and vendors: The allegations underscore risks tied to brokered transactions and the use of third‑party intermediaries; prosecutors allege nearly $300 million in brokered sales and more than $176 million in payments to two Malaysian firms, with deceptive recipient listings and the alleged purchase of identity documents factored into the scheme.

The indictment paints a detailed portrait of an alleged effort to route restricted computing power through intermediaries and falsified paperwork. Court filings link 92 exported servers from San Francisco International Airport to onward shipment paths through Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong and identify a Chinese consignee for at least some cargo. As the prosecution proceeds following Thursday’s arrest, the facts in the filings will form the basis for the next legal steps and any evidentiary hearings.

Original reporting: The Register — Californian accused of shipping $300M worth of Nvidia chips to China without Uncle Sam’s approval