Guilty Verdict for California Biolab Operator

FRESNO, Calif. - Following a two-week trial, a jury found Jia Bei Zhu, 64, a Chinese national, guilty of fraudulently selling more than a million COVID tests for nearly $4 million through his Fresno-based company Universal Meditech Inc. (UMI), to customers across the United States and of lying to the FDA about his identity and role with UMI, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

"This verdict holds the defendant accountable for actions that exploited a public health crisis for his own gain. He flouted the lawful authority of the FDA and deliberately deceived the public by repackaging low-quality, foreign-made test kits at a time when accuracy and reliability were critical," said U.S. Attorney Grant. "This conduct, tied to the unlawful operations uncovered at the Reedley laboratory, put lives at risk. Our office remains committed to prosecuting those who endanger the public through fraud, especially in matters affecting the health and safety of our communities."

"The defendant's scheme to distribute medical devices that were misbranded and falsely represented as FDA-approved undermined public health during a critical time," said Special Agent in Charge Robert Iwanicki, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Los Angeles Field Office. "The FDA works closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which is designed to ensure, among other things, that medical devices are safe and effective. We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who threaten the health of consumers by evading FDA requirements."

Zhu was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of substantive wire fraud, two counts of distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices, and one count of making a false statement to the FDA. His romantic partner Zhaoyan Wang is also charged in the case. She fled the United States shortly before Zhu's arrest and remains a fugitive from justice in China.

Importantly, the FDA, CDC, and FBI determined that the vivarium and fridges with pathogens and toxins in inappropriate containers were part of a failed effort by UMI to manufacture the COVID tests at its Fresno facility. They did not pose any risk to humans.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Zhu founded UMI with Zhaoyan Wang and hired inexperienced employees who would not ask any questions. The employees were cellphone salespeople, supermarket workers, childcare workers, and stay-at-home parents before starting at UMI. Some of the employees were hired through the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, which is a public organization that helps find jobs for unskilled workers and provides significant subsidies to employers that hire them.

From approximately August 2020 through March 2023, Zhu, Wang, and others at UMI conspired with each other to import faulty COVID tests from China and then sell them to customers based on several different false representations. The false representations included that the tests: (1) were authorized by the FDA, (2) were made in the USA, (3) were made in connection with a certified medical lab, and (4) worked.

False Representation on Internet re: FDA Approval, Made in USA, and Test Accuracy

Several of the employees testified at trial. They explained that Zhu instructed them to make false representations to customers. The employees explained that they knew what they were doing was wrong but went through with it because they did not want to lose their jobs. They also explained that they feared Zhu would physically hurt them if they defied his orders.

Many of the victims also testified at trial. They explained how the tests they received from UMI were missing basic parts and could not even detect COVID.

Zhu's scheme was first revealed in mid-2022 when one of the victims filed a civil lawsuit against UMI and performed a court-ordered inspection of UMI's Fresno facility. The inspection showed that UMI lacked the ability to manufacture COVID tests and that it was nothing more than an unsanitary warehouse that was far below established quality standards for facilities that house medical devices. For example, there was vivarium that was not sealed off from the rest of the facility and multiple fridges with pathogens and toxins in juice, soda, and other inappropriate containers. A vivarium is supposed to be a dedicated space for housing and studying living animals in controlled environments.

Pathogens and Toxins in Inappropriate Containers

The inspection also showed hundreds of boxes of COVID tests from China.

Boxes of COVID Tests from China

Zhu tried to escape the civil lawsuit by moving UMI from Fresno to Reedley, a neighboring town, and changing its name to Prestige Biotech Inc. (PBI). This tactic, however, did not work and the FDA began investigating him. Zhu subsequently met with investigators from the FDA and CDC in May 2023 and falsely claimed to be a different person, Qiang "David" He, who had just recently come to the United States from China on an asylum application. He also falsely claimed that he did not know anything about UMI or PBI's background.

The evidence showed that Zhu was previously an executive at the company IND in Canada in the early 2000s and that IND had gotten into trouble with the Canadian equivalent of the FDA for misconduct like the misconduct at issue in this case. He then came to the United States unlawfully, founded UMI, and began fraudulently selling COVID tests shortly thereafter.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arelis Clemente and Joseph D. Barton are prosecuting the case.

Zhu is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Aug. 24, 2026. Zhu faces maximum statutory penalties of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and each of the wire fraud charges, three years in prison for each of the distribution of adulterated and misbranded medical device charges, and five years in prison for the false statements charge. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.