Man found guilty on 12 counts for running illegal biolab in Reedley

REEDLEY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A two-week trial culminated in a guilty verdict for a COVID-related fraud case. At the center of the investigation is Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese National who also referred to himself as David He.

The 64-year-old was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices and making a false statement to the FDA.

Authorities say Zhu was fraudulently selling more than a million COVID tests for nearly $4M through his Fresno-based company Universal Meditech, Inc.

Fresno County applauded Wednesday's verdict. In a statement from the County, Supervisor Buddy Mendes added, "This is the beginning of the end of a lengthy chapter for the County and the City of Reedley. Justice was served today."

Officials described Zhu's scheme to distribute medical devices as "misbranded" with false claims of FDA approval that misled the public during a critical time.

Zhu, his co-founder Zhaoyan Wang, and others at Universal Medi-Tech conspired to import faulty COVID tests from China from August 2020 through March 2023 during the global COVID pandemic.

Zhu's scheme unraveled in mid-2022 when one of his victims filed a civil lawsuit against UMI, leading to a court-ordered inspection of its Fresno facility. Upon inspection, officials discovered pathogens and toxins in juice and soda containers.

According to an inquiry by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into the Reedley warehouse location, officials identified at least 20 infectious pathogenic agents, including HIV and tuberculosis, as well as a freezer labeled "Ebola" and several vials of an unknown liquid labeled in code.

To evade that lawsuit, Zhu relocated his operations 25 miles southeast of Fresno to the City of Reedley at its final location at I and 10th streets.

In December of 2022, a Reedley code enforcement officer found a green garden hose sticking out of a building and contacted the FBI to evaluate the potential public safety risk.

"This little city took down Goliath with a green garden hose," said Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba.

Upon inspection, biological agents were found to have faulty COVID tests, and nearly 1,000 mice were discovered inside the lab.

Zhu was eventually arrested in Clovis in 2023.

Earlier this year, a suspected bio-lab was found in a Las Vegas home and remains under investigation by authorities -- linked to Jia Bei Zhu.

ABC30 Legal Analyst Tony Capozzi, who represents Zhu, said his client has been in federal custody for the past three years and is not involved in any kind of bio lab being conducted in a home in Las Vegas.

Zhu's sentencing is scheduled for August 24, at which point he could face decades in prison.

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