California man arrested for smuggling $300M in Nvidia chips to China

Greg Lui, a 38-year-old California resident also known as Yiu Kong Lui, was arrested by U.S. federal authorities on October 1, 2026, for smuggling over $300 million in restricted Nvidia AI servers to China in violation of U.S. export controls. Lui owned Earthmade Computer Inc., the company through which he allegedly coordinated the illegal exports between 2023 and 2024.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Lui and unidentified co-conspirators used false documentation to conceal the chips' final destination. The servers, equipped with American-made graphics processors designed for artificial intelligence systems, were first exported to Malaysia and Singapore—jurisdictions where U.S. export restrictions do not apply—before being illegally re-exported to buyers in China, including government entities. Prosecutors allege Lui misrepresented the chips as destined for permissible end users and locations that did not require export licenses.

Federal prosecutors have charged Lui with one count of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and Export Administration Regulations, one count of outbound smuggling, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Lui was arraigned and made his initial appearance on October 1. The investigation was conducted jointly by the FBI, the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

The case reflects ongoing U.S. efforts to restrict the flow of advanced semiconductor technology to China. The United States and its allies have implemented broad export controls on high-performance AI accelerators and GPUs to maintain technological advantages. Chinese demand for powerful Nvidia hardware remains substantial, and restrictions have created a significant smuggling market. This arrest follows similar recent enforcement actions, including the indictment of nine people in Taiwan last month for illegally exporting Nvidia B300 GPUs to China.