More than a month after the FBI raided two homes connected to jailed Reedley biolab operator Jia Bei Zhu, the law enforcement agency said the chemicals and biological materials found at the homes largely match up with the company’s mission of making medical test kits.

Given how long those materials had been stored at those homes, however, it’s hard for agents to get a complete picture.

A statement from the FBI said that the mysterious chemicals and biological materials it tested align with those needed by a company making test kits — what Prestige Biotech, Inc., the company linked to Zhu, was doing.

“Laboratory testing conducted by the FBI determined the items recovered were primarily consistent with components used in the development of medical diagnostic test kits,” a statement from the FBI read.

In April, Zhu’s 2023 Fresno area case will go to federal trial in Sacramento, where a jury will determine whether he is guilty of adulterating and misbranding medical devices, making false statements to authorities, and committing wire fraud.

Authorities Find Bio Samples from Nearby Medical Facilities

Zhu owned the two Las Vegas homes authorities raided in January. While attorneys for Zhu say the Chinese national arrested in Reedley in 2023 was only a consultant for Prestige, authorities maintain he was a leader. Federal authorities arrested Zhu in 2023 for allegedly misbranding and mislabeling COVID test kits.

Despite materials matching up with the company’s mission, other questions remain.

The FBI says because of how long those items were stored in the Las Vegas garage, many materials had “significantly degraded.”

Investigators also found components used for influenza A & B vaccines, including the disease itself, but the agency said there was no indication of a public health threat. Also seized from the homes: Numerous biological samples with personally identifiable information that appear to have come from nearby medical facilities.

How those items came to be found at a private residence has raised questions of fraud or other criminal violations, the FBI said.

Reedley Officials Long Knew About Las Vegas Residences: Zieba

While the materials found match up with Prestige Biotech’s business, the FBI said there was no reason for a home to contain the materials investigators found. In addition to the biological materials and diseases, investigators found a centrifuge, biosafety hood, and other laboratory-type equipment, Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metro, said in a news conference following the raid.

Two of the workers at the homes, which were being used as short-term rentals, reported becoming sick after entering the garage.

It was a call from one of those workers that spurred the FBI and Las Vegas Metro to raid the homes. Because of the similarities to the lab found in Reedley, the FBI said investigators “took extensive safety precautions while the materials were secured and analyzed.”

Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba previously told GV Wire the city had long known about the homes in Las Vegas. Police records state that after Prestige failed to secure necessary licenses, the test strip company had one of the workers move materials to the home garages.