Police have rescued 21 children, including 17 toddlers, from a California couple, whom authorities accuse of running an alleged baby factory that misled surrogate mothers.
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21 kids are currently in the California child-welfare system as authorities, including the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and the FBI, investigate an Arcadia couple. Investigators are trying to determine whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country while running an alleged baby factory.
According to Arcadia Police Lieutenant Kollin Cieadlo, authorities removed 15 children from the home of Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65, after an abuse allegation in May. Cieadlo said an additional 6 children living in other homes were also taken into state custody. The children’s age rage from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3 years old.
California Couple Accused Of Abusing Surrogacy Business And Misleading Surrogate Mothers
Cieadlo said Zhang and Xuan are believed to be the legal parents of all of the children removed, and that the couple told him they “wanted a large family.” Cieadlo added, “We believe one or two were born biologically to the mother. There are some surrogates who have come forward and said they were surrogates for the children.”
Zhang reportedly revealed apparent legitimate birth certificates, including some from outside California, listing her as the mother of the children. Officials believe all of the kids are the biological offspring of the couple, but primarily birthed through multiple surrogates hired through their surrogacy business. Cieadlo said, “Many of the children were birthed through surrogacy and then the male and female at the residence took legal guardianship of those kids.”
According to the California Secretary of State, the couple’s address was previously registered under a company called Mark Surrogacy Investment, LLC. The most recent filing with the agency shows the business license terminated as of June 2025.
California Couple Under Investigation For Surrogacy Abuse After Child Abuse & Neglect Charges
As mentioned, the investigation into the California couple arrived after claims of repeated abuse. In May, police arrested the couple after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury. Arcadia Police reported that the nanny at the couple’s mansion violently shook the baby.
Police said surveillance footage from inside the home allegedly showed 56-year-old Chunmei Li shaking and hitting the infant. However, the child wasn’t taken to a hospital for another two days. Police say video also shows other nannies allegedly abusing all of the children.
Cieadlo added, “The discipline, both verbal and physical, was severe to the point where it supported the beliefs that child abuse was occurring inside the home.” At the time, police did not formally file child neglect charges, but an investigation ensued. Since then, the couple have been officially charged with felony child endangerment and neglect.
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Several Los Angeles news stations say several women claim to have been misled as surrogate mothers for the California couple. They claim they didn’t realize there were several other surrogates involved with the couple.
The director of The Center for Bioethics and Culture, which believes surrogacy exploits women, has since spoken out. Kallie Fell shared an interview with a Texas woman, Kayla Elliott, who gave birth for the couple last spring. Fell told The Associated Press:
“[Kayla] was lied to. She was told this couple had one other child and they wanted one more child to complete a family. She didn’t know they were the owners of the surrogacy agency. They operate with zero oversight.”
Elliott is now looking to raise money to gain custody of her child. On her GoFundMe fundraiser, she wrote:
“I am prepared and deeply committed to providing that for her, but the legal process to secure placement is complex and costly.”
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