US Arrests Earthmade CEO Over Alleged Smuggling of $300 Million-Plus in Nvidia Servers

Earthmade Computer CEO Greg Lui is facing federal charges over an alleged operation that sent more than $300 million in export-controlled Nvidia servers to China. US authorities arrested the 38-year-old executive, and the Justice Department disclosed its accusations on October 1. The case centers on false paperwork that allegedly concealed the shipments’ ultimate destination, according to Ars Technica.

Investigators allege that the operation ran from October 2023 through August 2026, using freight-forwarding firms in countries including Malaysia and Singapore. The servers contained Nvidia A100 and H100 graphics processors, or GPUs. Although they are not Nvidia’s newest chips, they can process large amounts of data and train large language models—capabilities behind US concerns about their use to advance Chinese AI and military systems.

Malaysia on paper, China in the alleged delivery

One example involves a 2024 email discussing an order for 70 servers with restricted GPUs. Their stated destination was Malaysia, but prosecutors say that description was fraudulent. Lui submitted a purchase order to a US manufacturer for 27 of those servers, valued at approximately $7.614 million. A co-conspirator then told a Malaysian government official that all 27 had been shipped to China, the DOJ alleges.

Another 2024 shipment involved 100 servers containing H100 GPUs, also documented as bound for Malaysia. Investigators allege that Lui supplied fraudulent documents from a fake buyer whose CEO was identified as “Jackie Lui.” The indictment further alleges that he had previously purchased another person’s identifying documents and used that identity in business transactions supporting the export-evasion scheme.

A separate shipment of 92 export-controlled servers allegedly followed a longer route. Investigators say the systems passed through Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong before reaching a Chinese company based in Hangzhou. That shipment is another part of the same alleged operation, rather than a separate criminal case.

Bank records and the money prosecutors want seized

The DOJ says emails and bank records exposed the operation. Payment records from Lui’s Bank of America and JPMorgan accounts form part of the alleged evidence, alongside the shipment communications and buyer documents. Prosecutors say Earthmade received more than $176 million from the scheme in 2024 alone.

The department is seeking seizure of all funds it alleges were gained through the operation. That requested forfeiture concerns the proceeds of the alleged scheme, while the criminal counts address export-control violations, smuggling and money laundering. Lui was arrested on three counts, with different maximum prison terms attached to the charges.

The charges and maximum penalties

• Conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and Export Administration Regulations: up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
• Smuggling: up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
• Money laundering: up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

A specific prosecution, not a measure of the entire trade

Nvidia offered a broader, different measure on October 1: a spokesperson told Bloomberg that less than 0.5 percent of Nvidia products had allegedly been diverted to China, as quoted in Ars Technica’s account. That company statement concerns overall diversion, not the value or destination of the shipments attributed to Lui. It does not resolve the specific criminal allegations, which remain unproven in court.