The Justice Department quietly dropped a federal firearms complaint against an Israeli national tied to a Chinese fraudster and an alleged secret biolab in Nevada, even after agents found what they described as a “possible biological laboratory” at a nearby property and seized multiple weapons from the suspect’s home.
Federal and local authorities executed a series of raids after suspicions grew around properties linked to convicted fraudster Jia Bei Zhu and a property manager identified as Ori Salomon. The initial raid in northeast Las Vegas in late January uncovered a setup that raised serious safety and legal questions, and it prompted follow-up searches at Salomon’s residence. Salomon is in the U.S. on an E-2 visa, and the investigation tied him to Zhu through extensive communications and property connections.
Agents described finding a “possible biological laboratory” inside one of the Nevada properties, complete with “bio-safety hood, a bio-safety sticker, a centrifuge, multiple refrigerators, red-brown unknown liquids in gallon-sized containers, and refrigerated vials with unknown liquids.” Those words came from law enforcement reporting at the time and underline why the initial searches looked like more than routine code violations. A discovery that reads like that should have set off alarm bells in every agency responsible for public safety.
The day of the first raid, police also served a warrant at the house where Salomon lived and reportedly recovered travel documents and a firearm. Officers found a French passport bearing the name “Ori Salomon,” an Israeli passport labeled “Ori Solomon,” and a black semi-automatic pistol. Those items raised questions about identity, travel, and weapon access while the investigation was still unfolding.
Investigators say Salomon was a primary “agent and conspirator” with Zhu, and records indicate hundreds of contacts between them in the weeks before police moved in. Salomon faced a state charge for disposing and discharging hazardous waste tied to the property, but the presence of firearms shifted part of the probe to the federal level. Under immigration rules, non-immigrant visa holders are generally barred from possessing firearms, which made the weapons discovery a straightforward federal concern.
A recorded jail call attributed to Salomon reportedly included references to other firearms at his residence, and that prompted a federal warrant to search his home on Feb. 2. During that search, agents say they recovered multiple guns, and Salomon’s adult daughter reportedly confirmed those weapons belonged to him. Those details were laid out in court filings and formed the basis for the federal firearms charge.
Law enforcement reported seizing a variety of firearms from the residence, including a Springfield Armory XD-9 9mm handgun, a Savage Mark II .22 caliber rifle, an IWI US Tavor-x95 5.56 rifle, a Glock 19 9mm handgun, and a Springfield Armory SA-XD ACP .45 caliber handgun. Prosecutors charged Salomon with one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, a federal offense tied directly to his immigration status. For many observers, the weapon types and quantity only deepened concerns about how the situation developed and who was involved.
Then, in May, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada filed a motion to dismiss the federal complaint without prejudice, and the motion included a statement that read exactly, “After a careful review of the evidence and additional information provided by defendant, the Government has concluded that the interests of justice require dismissal of the complaint at this time.” That language appeared in court papers and was followed by an order from a U.S. magistrate judge agreeing to the dismissal. The terse phrasing left open more questions than answers about what changed between the initial seizures and the decision to drop the federal charge.
‘The Government has concluded that the interests of justice require dismissal of the complaint.’
The federal dismissal does not erase the remaining state case: Salomon still faces a hazardous waste charge stemming from the property search and is scheduled to appear in state court. The unresolved state proceedings and the unanswered questions about the lab-like finds, extensive contacts with a convicted fraudster, and the federal decision to step back ensure this story will keep drawing scrutiny from law enforcement watchers and concerned citizens.
