A federal jury found Jia Bei Zhu guilty on a suite of charges tied to a years-long scheme that sold faulty COVID tests and hid troubling operations behind a web of companies. The conviction follows earlier findings that linked him to intellectual property theft in Canada and to laboratory sites in California and Las Vegas that raised public health and national security alarms. He now faces serious federal penalties as prosecutors and investigators point to ties with entities connected to the Chinese regime. The case is being cast as both a fraud prosecution and a warning about overseas influence and deception on U.S. soil.
The jury convicted Zhu 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 Food and Drug Administration. Prosecutors laid out a pattern: companies, shell operations, and false claims used to market and move millions of dollars in substandard products during a public health emergency. Authorities say the scheme ran from August 2020 through March 2023 and targeted Americans during a time when accurate testing mattered most.
‘He flouted the lawful authority of the FDA and deliberately deceived the public.’
The backstory goes back further. In 2016 a Canadian court concluded Zhu and associated firms conspired to steal confidential technology from a Colorado company with the goal of moving that know-how to China. Facing massive damages and potential prison time, he left Canada in 2015 and entered the United States, where federal officials later say he continued to run fraudulent ventures. That record shaped how investigators viewed his later activities in California and Nevada.
Once in California, Zhu formed Universal Meditech Inc. with a partner, Zhaoyan Wang, and allegedly recruited employees through local development channels who “would not ask any questions.” The company marketed and sold over a million COVID test kits that leaders say were manufactured abroad, repackaged, and falsely described to buyers as FDA authorized, U.S.-made, or tied to certified labs. The Justice Department says consumers were misled and that the kits routinely failed to meet standards.
Zhu reportedly pulled in nearly $4 million from the scheme. Victims came forward in 2022, and a civil lawsuit triggered an inspection that, prosecutors say, revealed a warehouse-style facility operating far below accepted medical device standards. Regulators found unsanitary conditions and an inability to demonstrate proper manufacturing controls, which fueled the criminal investigation and subsequent raids.
After the Fresno operation drew scrutiny, Zhu moved the business to Reedley and rebranded it as Prestige Biotech Inc. When the FDA looked into the operation, investigators say Zhu lied about his identity and status, claiming to be Qiang “David” He and denying knowledge of the companies. Those false statements are part of the charges and helped prosecutors establish the deliberate, deceptive character of the enterprise.
Local code enforcement set the endgame in motion when a seemingly vacant warehouse in Reedley showed signs of active use. A search warrant executed on March 16, 2023 uncovered lab equipment, what officials described as trace narcotics, roughly 1,000 genetically engineered mice designed to mimic the human immune system, and numerous unlabeled vials and fluids. Authorities also seized medical devices subject to an FDA health embargo, raising immediate public health concerns.
Officials later arrested Zhu on October 19, 2023, and searched additional properties linked to him, including a Las Vegas residence where agents found more lab gear. Inventory listed in reports included a bio-safety hood, centrifuge, refrigerators, large containers of unknown red-brown liquids, and refrigerated vials with unidentified substances. Meanwhile, his partner Wang was charged but apparently fled the country.
“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.”
The investigatory record and later statements by prosecutors treat this as more than ordinary fraud. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has cited Zhu’s ties to companies linked to the regime and to military-civil fusion entities, raising questions about how foreign actors and back channels can exploit gaps in oversight. For Republicans pushing tougher scrutiny on foreign-linked activities, this case underscores the need for vigilance on both public health and national security fronts.
As Zhu awaits sentencing, his convictions stand as a warning about opportunists who use pandemics and porous oversight to make quick money at the expense of American consumers. The fallout includes civil suits, criminal counts, and a trail of regulatory failures exposed by the raids and inspections. Prosecutors say the verdict sends a clear message that exploiting a health crisis for profit will be met with federal consequences.
