California tech owner charged in alleged server exports to China

Federal prosecutors charged Greg Lui, the owner of California-based Earthmade Computer Inc., with conspiring to violate U.S. export controls, outbound smuggling and conspiring to commit money laundering over an alleged effort to send more than $300 million in restricted computer servers to China. The three-count indictment was returned September 29, and Lui was arrested October 1, according to federal authorities. The charges are allegations, and no conviction has been reported. Prosecutors allege that Lui and others used Earthmade to buy servers containing U.S.-manufactured graphics processing units, then routed the equipment through Malaysia and Singapore before it was reexported to Chinese buyers. The indictment says the shipments were made from 2023 to 2024 without required U.S. licenses. It alleges that paperwork provided to U.S. manufacturers falsely identified the equipment’s intended end users or destinations, concealing that the servers were ultimately bound for China. The alleged value of the servers, more than $300 million, is separate from a payment figure in the indictment.