California Tech CEO Charged in Alleged $300 Million Chip Smuggling Scheme to China
Greg Lui of Earthmade Computer faces export-control, smuggling and money-laundering counts, DOJ says
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File photo: Nvidia campus aerial view. Photo: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
From January to October 2024, Earthmade allegedly received more than US$176 million from two Malaysia-based shipment companies, the DOJ said. In one January 2024 example cited in the indictment, Lui emailed about a Malaysian firm wanting 70 servers, then submitted a purchase order for about US$7.614 million for 27 servers shipped from Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur; a co-conspirator later emailed a Malaysian official that the servers had been transshipped to a China-based buyer, prosecutors allege.
Investigators and national-security framing
The Bureau of Industry and Security’s Office of Export Enforcement, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI are investigating. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said the National Security Division would protect the U.S. advantage in chips that power advanced AI. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the defendant allegedly used false paperwork and third-country shipments. All statements about the scheme remain allegations unless and until proven at trial.
