An Israeli individual, linked to a Chinese fraudster’s unlawful biological lab in Nevada, has been charged with a felony. This development came after the Justice Department unexpectedly sought to drop other criminal charges against him.
On January 31, police raided a property in northeast Las Vegas controlled by Ori Salomon, 55. He is an Israeli citizen in the U.S. on an E-2 visa and the property belongs to Jia Bei Zhu, a Chinese national recently convicted of fraud and associated with a clandestine lab found in Reedley, California, in late 2022.
At Zhu’s Las Vegas location, authorities reportedly uncovered what seemed to be a biological lab, equipped with “biosafety hoods, biosafety stickers, centrifuges, multiple refrigerators, an unidentified reddish-brown liquid in gallon containers, and refrigerated vials with another unknown liquid,” as mentioned by Christopher Delzotto, head of the FBI’s Las Vegas Office.
The police executed a search warrant at Salomon’s home the same day, allegedly finding two passports under his name—one French and one Israeli—along with a black semi-automatic handgun.
Salomon faced state charges related to hazardous waste disposal. He was identified as Zhu’s primary “agent and co-conspirator,” having contacted Zhu 467 times in the lead-up to the raid. The discovery of the firearm raised concerns among federal authorities since, as a nonimmigrant visa holder, Salomon is barred from owning firearms.
While in custody, Salomon made a recorded call to his daughter discussing the presence of more firearms at his house.
A federal search warrant was carried out at Salomon’s home on February 2, leading to the seizure of several firearms, including a Springfield Armory XD-9 handgun, a Savage Mark II .22 caliber rifle, an IWI US Tavor-X95 rifle, a Glock 19 handgun, and a Springfield Armory SA-XD ACP .45 caliber handgun.
The complaint indicates that Salomon’s adult daughter acknowledged that the firearms belonged to him.
He was charged with possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. Nonetheless, on May 11, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada moved to dismiss those charges without prejudice. Their reasoning was vague, merely stating that “the interests of justice require dismissing the charges at this time” after reviewing the evidence and information from the defendants.
Neither the Justice Department nor Salomon’s lawyer responded to requests for comments. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elaina Yucha allowed Salomon to enter a personal recognition bond in February and ultimately accepted the motion to drop federal charges. However, Salomon still has a scheduled court date on June 4 regarding hazardous waste charges.
