California: Couple under investigation for living with 21 surrogate-born children

A California child welfare agency took into custody 21 minors living with a couple who are being investigated by state and federal authorities for alleged surrogate fraud and possible child neglect.

According to police in Arcadia, some 15 children were removed from a luxury residence in that city in May after a complaint of abuse was received. Six other children, who were living at other addresses with relatives of the couple, were also located and placed in protective custody.

The children range in age from two months to 13 years old, but most are between 1 and 3 years old.

The alleged parents, Silvia Zhang (38) and Guojun Xuan (65), were arrested after a hospital alerted authorities about a two-month-old baby with head injuries and signs of intracranial hemorrhaging, allegedly caused by a nanny who is believed to have shaken the infant violently.

The child was not taken to the hospital until two days after the incident. So far no formal charges have been filed against the alleged parents who were released after posting $500,000 bail, in order to allow the investigation to continue.

The couple told police they "wanted a large family."

A caregiving hell: physical abuse, harsh punishments, yelling, and beatings

Security cameras seized at the home allowed detectives to document physical and psychological assaults committed against the children by at least six caregivers serving at the home.

The videos collected during the investigation reveal a pattern of physical aggressions, including severe punishments with screams and blows that were systematically applied against the children. After corroborating the evidence, the twenty or so minors were removed from the house.

According to lieutenant Kollin Cieadlo of the Arcadia Police Department, the residence operated with the structure of a school and presented conditions comparable to a hotel, given the dimensions of the property—approx 10,000 square feet—and the presence of living spaces set up as suites.

Surrogate and deceived mothers

For the moment, police and federal authorities are trying to clarify the origin of the children and the modality used to reunite so many children through surrogate mothers.

Investigators reported that the birth mothers came from different parts of the United States and none of them were aware of the total number of children that the couple had in their care through this type of contract, according to CBS News.

The couple hired each surrogate individually and without disclosing that other women were in the same process for them. Several surrogates have come out to state that they did not know the alleged parents were running a surrogacy agency without legal oversight.

Cieadlo for his part also indicated that Zhang presented what appear to be legitimate birth certificates, some of them issued in other states. State records show that at the couple's address operated a company called Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC, whose license was canceled in June.

The FBI is involved in the investigation, although it has so far declined to comment publicly. Similarly, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has declined to comment on details about the case.