According to documents, a Chinese-backed biolab in California reportedly received more than $500,000 in funding from the US government.
The black market facility, which was busted earlier this year, was discovered to be manufacturing illicit Covid and pregnancy tests, keeping diseased mice, hundreds of samples of pathogens, blood, and other questionable substances, in addition to manufacturing and storing unlawful pregnancy tests.
According to available data, the firm associated with the lab obtained two loans totaling $74,912 from the US government in April 2020 and February 2021 as part of the Covid-era loan program, for a total of close to $150,000.
Additionally, Universal Meditech was given a sizable $360,000 tax credit in 2018 under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s CalCompetes program, yet UMI was never actually given the money due to its inability to follow the program’s requirements.
The corporation, which had its headquarters in Fresno, California, went bankrupt in 2022, and its biggest creditor, a business with Chinese shareholders, took control of it.
It then relocated its operations to a modest warehouse in the small hamlet of Reedley.
Prior to its shutdown, UMI held a valid state license and permit allowing it to manufacture diagnostic tests for menopause, ovulation, and pregnancy at its Fresno plant.
Despite the fact that it had received the federal funds as a legitimate business, a subsequent attempt by authorities to
California granted UMI a $360,000 tax credit in 2018 as part of the state’s CalCompetes program, which offers tax incentives to companies like UMI in order to promote job creation and economic growth in the state.
This was before the company’s dubious transactions with investors were uncovered.
Prestige Biotech, whose owners claimed to be from China, was in charge of hundreds of chemicals, viruses, and biological materials in addition to mistreated animals and defective machinery.
The company’s origins are still unknown.
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