A 64-year-old Chinese language nationwide has been convicted by a federal jury of promoting greater than one million fraudulent COVID-19 checks nationwide out of a Fresno biolab throughout the pandemic.
The Division of Justice stated that Jia Bei Zhu was discovered responsible of fraudulently promoting almost $4 million price of the defective checks out of his Fresno-based firm Common Meditech Inc (UMI) to clients throughout the US.
He was convicted on almost a dozen counts together with, one for making a false assertion to the FDA, eight counts of substantive wire fraud, and one rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“This verdict holds the defendant accountable for actions that exploited a public well being disaster for his personal acquire,” US Legal professional Eric Grant stated concerning the conviction.
“He flouted the lawful authority of the FDA and intentionally deceived the general public by repackaging low-quality, foreign-made take a look at kits at a time when accuracy and reliability had been important.”
Between August 2020 and March 2023, Zhu, his romantic accomplice Zhaoyan Wang and others at UMI “conspired with one another to import defective COVID checks from China after which promote them to clients based mostly” on lies.
The DOJ stated that Zhu lied that the checks had been permitted by the FDA, that they had been made within the USA, that they got here from a licensed lab, and that they really labored.
It was revealed at trial that Zhu and Wang employed workers that wouldn’t ask questions.
A few of these workers testified that they knew what was happening however they had been both too afraid of dropping their job or too fearful of Zhu to cease promoting the fraudulent checks and blow the whistle.
Zhu’s scheme was first uncovered in mid-2022 after one in every of his victims “filed a civil lawsuit in opposition to UMI,” the DOJ stated. That sparked an investigation of the Fresno lab the place authorities found the unsanitary facility which lacked the correct medical gear to make the checks. The inspection additionally confirmed “a whole lot of bins of COVID checks from China,” per the DOJ report.
In an try to flee his lawsuit, authorities stated Zhu moved the operation to a clandestine lab in Reedley, 20 miles south of Fresno. The DOJ stated he modified the title of the lab, his personal title, and lied to authorities about his connection to UMI or the brand new lab. However authorities remained on the case.
Metropolis officers in Reedley then bought concerned in December 2022 after a code enforcement officer seen a inexperienced backyard hose protruding from a warehouse within the metropolis, the place they discovered an unlawful biolab. Zhu was arrested in October 2023.
“This conduct, tied to the illegal operations uncovered on the Reedley laboratory, put lives in danger,” the US lawyer stated. “Our workplace stays dedicated to prosecuting those that endanger the general public by means of fraud, particularly in issues affecting the well being and security of our communities.”
FBI Sacramento Particular Agent in Cost Sid Patel added concerning the verdict, “Mr. Zhu noticed a public well being disaster and selected to revenue from it by misrepresenting the origin, high quality, and FDA approval standing of his checks with the intent to flood the market with misbranded medical gadgets.”
Wang has additionally been charged within the case, however fled from the US earlier than Zhu’s arrest and stays a fugitive from justice in China, per the DOJ.
Zhu might be locked up for a very long time with the varied fees in opposition to him. He faces not solely statutory penalties of 20 years in jail for the conspiracy cost and every of the wire fraud fees, however 5 years in jail for the false statements cost, and a further three years in jail for the fraudulent gadgets, per the DOJ.
Zhu is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 24.
