By Bloomberg
Publication Date: 2026-10-02 05:48:00
By Michael Shepard
(Bloomberg) – Federal prosecutors arrested a California man on Thursday on charges of smuggling computer servers containing $300 million worth of Nvidia Corp. artificial intelligence chips to China in violation of US export controls.
Authorities said that Greg Lui, the owner of privately held Earthmade Computer Inc., worked with other unidentified co-conspirators from 2023 to 2024 to ship servers containing the restricted chips to buyers in China without the required US licenses.
The charges against Lui mark the latest in a series of federal prosecutions of individuals accused of violating export controls aimed at keeping advanced US-made chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns. In March, authorities charged a co-founder of Super Micro Computer Inc. with illegally diverting billions of dollars in Nvidia chips to China. He pleaded not guilty.
Lui, 38, was expected to be arraigned later in the day, the Justice Department said in a statement. He’s facing one count each of conspiracy to violate US export controls, outbound smuggling and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the agency said.
Prosecutors argued in a court filing that Lui should be detained without bail because of a “serious risk” he would flee if released.
“This defendant allegedly used false paperwork and shipments through third countries to smuggle more than $300 million in export-controlled computer servers to China,” said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli in Los…