California Today

Fresno Company Owner Guilty in $4M COVID Test Fraud

06 May 2026 12:10

A federal jury convicted Jia Bei Zhu, owner of Fresno-based Universal Meditech Inc., for selling over a million fraudulent COVID-19 tests and lying to the FDA. - Zhu's scheme netted nearly $4 million from August 2020 to March 2023.

- Tests were falsely marketed as FDA-approved, made in the USA, and accurate. - Employees testified they were instructed to deceive customers and feared retaliation.

- Zhu faces up to 20 years in prison; sentencing is set for August.

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