Jia Bei Zhu, 62, who was indicted in November 2023, now faces additional charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The new 12-count superseding indictment was returned by a federal grand jury today in Fresno.

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Zhu, a Chinese national, was initially charged with distributing adulterated COVID-19 test kits and making false statements about his identity and lab involvement.

The latest indictment includes charges against Zhu’s partner, Zhaoyan Wang, 38, also from China. Wang, who operated Universal Meditech Inc. and Prestige Biotech Inc., in Fresno and Reedley, alongside Zhu, faces similar charges.

Zhu and Wang are accused of defrauding buyers by misrepresenting the origin of COVID-19 test kits from August 2020 to March 2023. According to the new charges, they imported the kits from Ai De Ltd., a Chinese company they controlled, and falsely claimed they were U.S.-made. The kits allegedly were imported under false pretenses as pregnancy tests.

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The indictment alleges that Zhu and Wang misled buyers about their production capabilities and FDA approvals, saying they could make up to 100,000 test kits per week. They also denied access to their facilities, citing false reasons such as the lab was under renovation, to obscure the true origin of the kits. Prosecutors said that the fraud reportedly netted them more than $1.7 million.

Zhu remains in custody awaiting his next status conference on Sept. 11. Wang is not in custody.

Both face up to 20 years in prison for the new charges, with additional penalties for previous charges.