A California couple are accused of running a suspected baby surrogacy fueled human trafficking ring that involved at least 21 children.
The couple are suspected of running the surrogacy scam after police found 15 toddlers, aged from two months to three years old, in their luxurious Arcadia mansion.
Executive director of the Center of Bioethics and Culture Katie Fell, told KABC that although having dozens of kids through surrogacy isn’t illegal, the situation at the couple’s home “smells of trafficking.”
It is believed that all of the children are genetically linked to the couple but born via surrogates from around the country.
Police says that all 21 children have been taken in by the Department of Children and Family Services.
An Arcadia couple's 21 children -- all from surrogate mothers -- have been placed in protective custody amid a disturbing investigation. Arcadia police say the kids are the product of a surrogacy operation owned by the couple: “We believe that it extended beyond our city and into… pic.twitter.com/Y2qMfUNVS7
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) July 16, 2025
The Mail Online reports: Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, were arrested in May for felony child endangerment after cops descended on their $4.1 million home in Arcadia, initially responding to reports of a two-month-old suffering a traumatic head injury.
Inside, they found 15 children between the ages of two months and 13. Another six children had also been moved to other homes.
Of the 21 total children, 17 were under the age of three. All of the surrogate-born children were taken into the custody of Department of Children and Family Services.
Xuan and Zhang were charged child endangerment and neglect related to the infant found with a head injury, and later released. They have not been charged over thei alleged surrogacy scheme.
Cops also issued an arrest warrant for their nanny Chunmei Li, 56, alleging that security cameras inside the home revealed Li was ‘verbally and physically’ abusing the children.
Although having dozens of children through surrogates is not illegal, officials said they are investigating the startling find inside the home.
Kallie Fell, executive director of the nonprofit Center of Bioethics and Culture, told ABC7 that while the couple may not have broken the law by having so many surrogate children, the situation ‘smells of trafficking.’
It is unclear what the couple do for work, with public records showing they are connected to a number of investment firms.
Arcadia police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo said that the couple ‘took legal guardianship of those kids’ after they were born through surrogates, before Li allegedly abused the children as their nanny.
‘The discipline, both verbally and physical, was severe to the point where it supported the beliefs that child abuse was occurring inside the home Cieadlo said.
The Arcadia police said the FBI has joined its investigation into a suspected mass-surrogacy operation owned and ran by Xuan and Zhang.
Kayla Elliot, one of the surrogate mothers hired by the couple, said she believed that they were clients of a surrogate agency.
‘It’s horrific, it’s disturbing, it’s damaging emotionally,’ she told ABC7.