An O'Keefe Media Group screen grab shows James O'Keefe surprising Daniel Sepulveda, a staffer for Rep. Jim Costa, at a Fresno Chinese restaurant.

James O’Keefe, the conservative media organization founder known for hidden camera stings, has set his sights on the illegal Reedley biolab with his latest video release.

The video takes particular aim at Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and purports to show Costa district representative, Daniel Sepulveda, commenting about the case while on a series of Tinder dates recorded without his knowledge. 

The footage was shot by a “citizen journalist” employed by O’Keefe who reportedly found the Costa staffer on the Tinder dating app and met with him three times.

In the video, O’Keefe said the local woman received training from his O’Keefe Media Group and was part of his “American Swiper” program for people to secretly record meetings set up via dating apps.

O’Keefe said the woman was paid $3,000 for taking part in the ruse.

Sepulveda discusses a secret recording that reportedly shows a person associated with the lab saying its operation was benefiting the Chinese government.

Costa participated in the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party’s report on the Reedley biolab released Nov. 15,  which found the lab was run by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who was a top official at a PRC-state-controlled company. The illegal biolab received millions of dollars in unexplained payments from PRC banks, the report also found.

On Nov. 16 a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Jia Bei Zhu, 62, for his role in the illegal Reedley biolab.

Also known by the aliases Jesse Zhu, Qiang He and David He, the citizen of China who formerly resided in Clovis was charged with distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and for making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The suspect remains in Fresno County Jail under the name David He.

The O’Keefe video claims to show Sepulveda saying he knew about the lab for “a few months” before the rest of the public, but the video’s editing makes it difficult to establish the context of that statement.

The video also shows O’Keefe himself confronting Sepulveda during the final Tinder date with the woman, reportedly at a Chinese restaurant in Fresno.

In 2010, O’Keefe founded Project Veritas, which identifies itself as a news organization. Its most recent IRS filings show it brought in more than $20 million in revenue in 2021. Over the years its hidden-cameras have embarrassed news outlets, labor organizations and Democratic politicians.

O’Keefe said in a speech posted online in February that he had been removed as the right-wing group’s leader. The move comes after the board reportedly put him on leave from his role as chairman amid complaints about his treatment of staff at the organization.

Michel Maher, a Fresno entrepreneur who is challenging Costa for his 21st District seat, released a statement about the video, which was released Wednesday and has about 58,000 views on YouTube.

“Jim Costa and his office need to be fully transparent about what they knew and when they knew it, and they also need to be held accountable for needlessly endangering the safety of local residents,” Maher said.

Costa’s office released the following statement Thursday:

“Upon notification by the city of Reedley on March 22, 2023, Rep. Costa has done everything possible to work with local, state and federal officials to protect public safety and get to the bottom of this illegal lab. Rep. Costa has been transparent about his work, which is clearly outlined in a bipartisan congressional report issued on Nov. 15, 2023. All of these events have been extensively covered and verified by local official, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the media.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.