Chinese National Indicted Over Illegal Devices

An eastern California federal grand jury has returned a three-count indictment against Jia Bei Zhu, aka Jesse Zhu, Qiang He, and David He, a citizen of China who formerly resided in Clovis, CA, charging him with distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and with making false statements to FDA. Zhu was arrested last month in connection with the scheme (see earlier story).

Between 1/2020 to 3/2023, Zhu allegedly sold hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 test kits that were not approved, cleared or authorized by FDA, according to a Justice Department release. He did this through the companies Universal Meditech Incorporated and Prestige Biotech, both of which were based in Fresno and Reedley, CA.

If convicted, Zhu faces a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the adulterated and misbranding of medical devices charges, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false statements charge.