The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 1 that the suspect is Greg Lui, 38, also known as Yiu Kong Lui, a resident of San Gabriel, and the owner of Earthmade Compute, a business located in the City of Industry area east of Los Angeles.
Greg Lui has been charged with three counts, including conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act and export regulations, smuggling goods out of the United States, and conspiracy to launder money.
According to the indictment, Earthmade Computer purchased high-performance servers containing US-made graphics processors between 2023 and 2024.
These devices, which can be used to train AI models, process large volumes of data, and serve advanced computing applications, are subject to Washington's export controls.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not name the processor manufacturer in its official statement. However, investigative records and media sources identify the servers containing Nvidia A100 and H100 chips, two processor lines subject to export restrictions to China .
Prosecutors allege that Lui and his associates fabricated documents showing the servers were sold to customers in Malaysia or Singapore , countries that do not require similar export licenses.
After leaving the US, the equipment was forwarded to China without the approval of the US Department of Commerce.
Among the shipments was an order for 70 servers containing controlled processors. Earthmade Computer ordered 27 of these for approximately $7.6 million and declared the destination as Malaysia.
However, an individual involved later reportedly informed Malaysian officials that all 27 servers had been transferred to China.
In another shipment, 92 servers were allegedly transported via Singapore and Malaysia, then to Hong Kong (China), and subsequently to a company in Hangzhou, a location considered a key AI development hub in China.
Prosecutors also allege the suspect used a false identity to create a profile for a client who had no actual business activity in Malaysia.
Records show that Earthmade Computer received more than $176 million from two transport companies in Malaysia between January and October 2024.
The FBI alleges that the suspect sold large quantities of American technology to parties in China.
The U.S. Department of Justice emphasizes that controlling the export of advanced chips is aimed at preventing potentially military-grade technology from falling into the hands of strategic adversaries.
If convicted, Lui could face separate sentences of up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to violate export regulations, 20 years for money laundering, and 10 years for smuggling.
Source: https://anninhthudo.vn/my-bat-nghi-pham-tuon-may-chu-ai-tri-gia-hon-300-trieu-usd-sang-trung-quoc-post670715.antd
