California Couple Arrested on Child Abuse Charges in Surrogacy Scheme
Authorities are investigating a surrogacy operation involving at least 21 children, with the couple facing multiple counts of child abuse.
A California couple has been arrested on child abuse charges following an investigation into a surrogacy scheme involving at least 21 children, authorities announced Tuesday.
Silvia Zhang and her husband, Guojun Xuan, face multiple counts including child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact, and dissuading a witness, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Prosecutors are seeking $100 million bail for the couple, citing the severity of the charges and their potential flight risk. Hochman described the couple’s home as a “house of horrors.”
Fifteen children were removed from the couple’s home in Arcadia last year after an allegation of abuse, and an additional six children living elsewhere were also located. The children range in age from 2 months to 13 years old, with most between 1 and 3.
Police believe Zhang gave birth to one or two of the children, while the rest were born via surrogates. The couple's initial arrest in May 2025 stemmed from a report by a hospital that their 2-month-old infant had sustained a traumatic head injury, allegedly caused by a nanny violently shaking the baby. Arcadia police deferred filing charges at the time to complete their investigation.
Zhang and Xuan told police they desired a large family and presented documents that appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, some from outside California, listing Zhang as the mother and Xuan as the father on at least some of the documents.
During a search of the couple’s home last year, surveillance footage reportedly showed nannies beating children in a room described as classroom-like. An arrest warrant was issued for the nanny identified in the footage as harming the infant, Chunmei Li, but she has not been located.
Surrogacy, an agreement where a woman carries a pregnancy for another parent, is not federally regulated, leaving state laws to govern the practice. California is considered a surrogacy-friendly state with established laws requiring lawyers for both parties and a notarized contract before embryo transfer.
Investigators are examining whether the couple misled surrogates across the country. At least eight women have come forward alleging they were aggressively pursued by the couple to serve as surrogates. These women, many of whom were first-time surrogates, claim they received misleading or incomplete information about the couple's family situation and intentions. One woman, Kayla Elliott, is reportedly seeking custody of the baby she carried for the couple.