Arcadia Couple Arrested After 21 Surrogate Children Found in Abuse Case
A Southern California couple at the center of a sprawling surrogacy scandal has been arrested on child abuse charges, more than a year after authorities removed 21 children from their home.
Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang were taken into custody Tuesday, October 6, in Arcadia, a city in Los Angeles County's San Gabriel Valley. Prosecutors are asking a judge to set bail at $100 million for each of them.
The Charges
The couple faces 10 counts, including conspiracy to commit child abuse and dissuading a witness. The complaint lists 55 overt acts tied to the alleged conspiracy, according to ABC7.
"What has been publicly filed in the complaint today is incredibly disturbing. It involves horrific punishment and beatings and child abuse," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, CBS News reported.
"This case is unprecedented. It is horrific," Hochman added. "The house could only be described as a house of horrors for these incredible young children."
Prosecutors argued the high bail is needed because the couple is a flight risk. They are expected to be arraigned at the Pasadena courthouse, where a judge will rule on the bail request.
What Prosecutors Say Happened Inside the Home
The 21 children, who ranged in age from 2 months to 13 years old, were mostly born through surrogacy.
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, three rooms in the house were set up as "learning centers" where children sat at desks under the watch of nannies. Prosecutors allege the nannies carried out daily beatings and were told to avoid leaving visible marks.
The couple also installed 32 surveillance cameras throughout the home, prosecutors said. They are also accused of misleading surrogates about how many children they already had.
A defense attorney, Mitchell Krems, said his client is innocent and blamed the alleged abuse on a nanny's wrongdoing.
How the Case Began
The investigation started in July 2025, when a 2-month-old was hospitalized with a brain bleed. Police said the infant's injuries were consistent with being shaken or dropped.
Authorities then searched the couple's mansion and placed the 21 children in protective custody. Xuan and Zhang were arrested at the time on suspicion of felony child endangerment but were released without charges.
Investigators later found surveillance footage showing a nanny, Chunmei Li, with the injured infant. Li is believed to have fled to China and remains at large.
At least five more surrogate-born babies linked to the couple were later taken into state custody in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia, CBS News reported.
An Investigation That Is Still Growing
The FBI served its own search warrant on Tuesday, separate from the one served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A neighbor described helicopters overhead and an entire block cordoned off as officers searched the property.
Investigators are still trying to determine why the couple sought guardianship of so many surrogate-born children. They are also looking into Xuan's alleged past involvement with an illegal casino and a psilocybin operation.
The case has drawn national attention to how commercial surrogacy arrangements are screened. California has some of the most permissive surrogacy laws in the country. An attorney for one of the surrogates told CBS News her client was "led to believe that this was a couple who had one child and wanted to have one more."
The couple worked through two businesses, Mark Surrogacy and Future Spring Surrogacy, which were registered to their home and office, according to CBS News.
Prosecutors have not said when the couple could face trial if the case moves forward.
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