Reedley figure convicted in fraud

A COVID-test fraud case just snapped into focus. A federal jury in Sacramento found Jia Bei Zhu guilty after a two-week trial, tying the Reedley biolab figure to a nationwide scheme that sold faulty test kits during the pandemic. The core accusation was simple but ugly — the tests were marketed as FDA-authorized when they were not, and the company behind them brought in nearly $4 million. That matters because this was not just a weird local lab story anymore. It became a plain old fraud case with receipts. (justice.gov) ### Who is Jia Bei Zhu? Zhu, 64, is the man prosecutors linked to Universal Meditech Inc., the Fresno-based company at the center of the COVID-test sales, and to the broader Reedley biolab story that drew national attention in 2023. News coverage has also referred to him by other names, including David He. The jury convicted him on all 12 counts charged in this case. (justice.gov) ### What did the jury say he did? The government’s case was that Zhu fraudulently sold more than 1 million COVID-19 tests across the U.S. between August 2020 and March 2023 through Universal Meditech. Prosecutors said the kits were faulty, adulterated or misbranded, and falsely pitched as cleared or authorized by the FDA(justice.gov)t the company. (justice.gov) ### What were the actual charges? This was not one vague fraud count. Jurors convicted Zhu of one conspiracy count, multiple wire-fraud counts, two counts tied to distributing misbranded medical devices, and one count for making a false statement to the FDA. That mix matters because it shows prosecutors built the case around both the money trail and the regulatory deception. (gvwire.com) ### Why does the FDA angle matter so much? Because the whole sales pitch leaned on regulatory trust. During the pandemic, buyers wanted tests they believed met federal standards. If a seller says a product is FDA-authorized, that is not marketing fluff — it is the thing many hospitals, distributors, and customers use (gvwire.com)nstream sale starts to look like fraud, not just sloppy compliance. (justice.gov) ### How does this connect to Reedley? The Reedley warehouse became infamous after local and federal investigators found an unlicensed biolab operation with freezers, lab materials, and biological agents. That discovery made the case feel mysterious and sprawling. But the verdict this week narrowed one part of the story i(justice.gov)and hid who was really in charge. (abc30.com) ### Was this really a big operation? Yes. Prosecutors said the scheme moved more than 1 million tests and generated nearly $4 million in sales. That is the detail that gives the case weight. This was not a handful of sketchy boxes in a garage. It was a multi-year operation selling nationwide during a public-health emergency, which is exactly when buyers were under pressure to move fast and trust paperwork. (justice.gov) ### What happens next? The conviction does not end the Reedley story, but it does raise the stakes for Zhu personally. One local report said he could face a very long maximum sentence if penalties were stacked, though actual federal sentencing usually turns on guidelines and the judge’s findings. Sentencing comes later. (justice.gov)to a jury. (yourcentralvalley.com) ### Bottom line The Reedley case used to sound like a bizarre mystery about a hidden lab. Now the clearest part of it is brutally familiar — pandemic demand, fake regulatory claims, and millions of dollars in sales. The jury verdict turns that from suspicion into conviction. (justice.gov)