I. Apparent Pathogens and Other Dangerous Substances Discovered at the Reedley Biolab
A. Local Officials Discover the Reedley Biolab
The Reedley Biolab was discovered in a warehouse located at 850 I Street in Reedley, California. It was across the street from a residential neighborhood, next to a railway line, and a short walk from the town’s high school, city hall, and water supply. Officials ultimately learned that Jiabei “Jesse” Zhu, under the false identity of David He, had set up a facility engaged in fraudulent sales of medical device kits and, other biological laboratory activity—the “Reedley Biolab.” Zhu did so after he and his associates had to hastily move from their previous location in Fresno, “an illegal laboratory similar to the Reedley site” due to a fire and threat of eviction.[1] Zhu operated the Biolab through the corporation Universal Meditech Incorporated (UMI) and, later, Prestige Biotech Incorporated (Prestige Biotech).
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Figure 1 - Aerial view of Reedley, with Reedley Biolab in blue, major landmarks in red, and residential areas in yellow. Source: Google Earth.
Officials first learned about the Reedley Biolab thanks to the work of Code Enforcement Officer Jesalyn Harper, who identified the aberrant garden hose building code violation outside the warehouse in December 2022. Upon being let
- ↑ In Re: Property Locate at 850 “I” Street, Reedley, California 93654, No. 23CECG00912, (Cal. Super. Ct. Jun. 15, 2023). The factual statements contained in these and other court filings and relied on in this report were “declare[d] under the penalty of perjury.” Id.
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