CA - California couple accused of tricking women into carrying babies through surrogacy; 21 children seized

[seasideForest]

I am not a fan of "surrogacy". It is not unlike prostitution to me, and that is illegal in most places. The whole thing is exploitative. Rich folks, paying women to use their bodies as a nine month incubator.

I have read of occasional women being surrogates for a women friend who couldn't carry to term. idk where I read that except reliable source (not tabloids etc), so just MOO. In such a case or similar, I wouldn't call that exploitative. Just one woman deciding to help a good friend.

JMO

 

[Knox]

oh god I just had a horrible thought
I'm not sure I should even say what it was
further to the possibility of SA videos that they sell, the rooms like 'suites' makes me wonder if they had 'customers' coming to the house ...

Where my mind went also, there’s a diabolical plot in this somewhere. It literally makes no sense, these babies were not conceived/born to love and cherish.

 

[FromGermany1]

dbm, because already cleared

 

[SophieRose]

Southern California couple charged with child endangerment after more than 20 children removed from their home, police say

A Southern California couple has been charged with child endangerment after more than 20 children were removed from their home, police say.

www.cbsnews.com

Officers were notified by a local hospital about a possible incident of child abuse on May 7, the department said. When officers arrived, they learned that a two-month-old infant had been admitted with a traumatic head injury and intracranial bleeding.

During their investigation, detectives served a search warrant at a home in Arcadia and seized surveillance camera footage, the department said.

"Upon reviewing the footage, detectives observed that a nanny employed by the child's parents violently shook and struck the infant on May 5, 2025, resulting in the child losing consciousness," a police news release said.

Detectives said that even though the child's parents were aware of the incident, they didn't seek quick medical attention, only bringing the baby to the hospital after the infant suffered seizures two days later. At the latest, police said the baby is still hospitalized but in stable condition.

 

[SophieRose]

I'm still letting this simmer....asking FOR WHAT actually?!?!?!?!?

Snipped from above & bbm...
“It’s kind of set up like a hotel with a big, giant lobby, and all the rooms are like suites,” neighbor Hobart Young said.

It's reported that their home was also the address of their surrogacy company, so maybe the potential surrogate mothers met the couple there.

 

[musicaljoke]

oh god I just had a horrible thought
I'm not sure I should even say what it was
further to the possibility of SA videos that they sell, the rooms like 'suites' makes me wonder if they had 'customers' coming to the house ...

There hasn't been any evidence released to support this and it seems a stretch. So far, it is just a weird couple with a huge house and way too many little children.

 

[SophieRose]

https://ktla.com/news/california/surrogate-of-stillborn-baby-says-california-couple-abandoned-her/

Perla and another surrogate, Kayla from Texas, said they both underwent embryo transfers at Western Fertility Institute in 2024, just three months apart. Both said they were told the embryos were created using the father’s sperm and a donor egg.

 

[Woolly]

21 children - all with surrogate mothers - taken from couple amid investigation

A couple's 21 children - all from surrogate mothers - have been placed in protective custody amid an investigation.

abc7chicago.com

"Many of the children were birthed through surrogacy and then the male and female at the residence took legal guardianship of those kids," Cieadlo added.

Six other children, investigators say, had been moved to other homes. All 21 of the kids were confirmed to be the children of 65-year-old Guojun Xuan and 38-year-old Silvia Zhang.

This is interesting. The article says all were born from surrogacy but then later says many were. 17 children were 3 or younger, but maybe the other four were not from surrogates? The oldest was 13, so could have had a relatively normal childhood for ten years. What changed?

I also wonder why only 17 children were found at the home while six had been moved to other homes. What does that mean? If they were adopting them out, why not do it when they were babies?

The whole thing is so odd, including the parents’ 27 year age difference, but not illegal (aside from the abuse, of course). But surrogacy isn’t illegal and having 21 kids isn’t illegal…

Do they (or maybe just he) think that they have superior genes and want to have as many offspring as possible?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

It is unclear what the couple do for work, with public records showing they are connected to a number of investment firms.

Reading between the lines, what could this mean? Anyone?

 

[333_OnlyHalfEvil]

This is interesting. The article says all were born from surrogacy but then later says many were. 17 children were 3 or younger, but maybe the other four were not from surrogates? The oldest was 13, so could have had a relatively normal childhood for ten years. What changed?

I also wonder why only 17 children were found at the home while six had been moved to other homes. What does that mean? If they were adopting them out, why not do it when they were babies?

The whole thing is so odd, including the parents’ 27 year age difference, but not illegal (aside from the abuse, of course). But surrogacy isn’t illegal and having 21 kids isn’t illegal…

Do they (or maybe just he) think that they have superior genes and want to have as many offspring as possible?

That's what I was wondering. 17 children of roughly the same age at the same time is too weird to be a religious thing, so either they are building an army for some reason, or they think they're duplicating perfection. I wonder if the abuse for some of them (not the poor baby with head injuries, obviously) was them experimenting with different things to see how it affected their personalities as they grew up.

All just wild speculation on my part, of course.

 

[bootsinmass]

Reading between the lines, what could this mean? Anyone?

Investment firms plus the location and house sounds to me like either generational wealth or a good run of luck.

These firms typically pump money into smaller companies and walk away with their portion of the profit. Some places will buy a struggling business at less than its worth, just to shutter it so they can claim whatever equity was in the business. I personally find them predatory but that's just MOO, I'm sure some have more ethical practices than others.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Where my mind went also, there’s a diabolical plot in this somewhere. It literally makes no sense, these babies were not conceived/born to love and cherish.

Sadly my mind went to the same place. Normal people don't have 21 babies. This sounds like a nightmarish supply/demand scenario, complete with "hotel suites" inside the house.

These are toddlers. Toddlers have no use for hotel suites. Adults do.

 

[Equal Justice Under Law]

DBM

 

[Lilibet]

That house!

My husband’s aunt and uncle lived in Arcadia in a lovely ranch style home. Back in the late ‘90’s I remember they talked about houses in their neighborhood being torn down and replaced by McMansions like the one shown in the surrogate article.

Arcadia's in a McMansion Boom and It's Completely Insane

The recent influx of mainland Chinese immigrants into the San Gabriel Valley burg of Arcadia is radically changing the traditionally-white enclave in many ways, not least of which is a total...

la.curbed.com

The recent influx of mainland Chinese immigrants into the San Gabriel Valley burg of Arcadia is radically changing the traditionally-white enclave in many ways, not least of which is a total reinvention of their housing stock. (Arcadia saw its Asian population skyrocket from four percent in 1980 to 59 percent in 2010.) The town's expecting record teardowns of older houses, which are mostly set to be replaced with new, much larger McMansions. Long-time residents are regularly offered all-cash buyouts by strangers (sometimes even via postcard or flyer), developers, and would-be developers who are eager to get a house, tear it down, build something bigger, and sell to newly-arrived buyers.

Arcadia CA Luxury Homes For Sale - 181 Homes | Zillow

Check out the nicest homes currently on the market in Arcadia CA. View pictures, check Zestimates, and get scheduled for a tour of some luxury listings.

www.zillow.com

 

[Lilibet]

I’m not sure if this is what’s going on in this case, but it’s a possibility. Surrogacy is illegal in China. Chinese families who want to use a surrogate find it easier to come to the U.S., especially California where laws are loosest.

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/22/1128837495/surrogacy-birth-tourism-china-california

The company is one part of a well-established industry centered in California that also includes the controversial service of bringing Chinese mothers to the U.S. to give birth to their children, known as "birth tourism."

Here’s a company that facilitates surrogacy. The name seems appropriate!

Surrogacy in China: A Comprehensive Guide | Hatch Surrogacy

Are you an intended parent looking into surrogacy in China? Learn more about local laws, requirements, benefits, and more.

www.hatch.us

 

[swanniee11]

I have no words, I read some articles that are mentioning trafficking.

 

[tlcya]

This is the website for the surrogacy agency, which had in the meantime changed its name.

Future Spring Surrogacy - agency in California

Future Spring Surrogacy is a compassionate and experienced surrogacy agency dedicated to helping families grow with care and professionalism. - surrogate - agency in California

www.futurespringsurrogacy.com

I'm thinking that they had her ovaries hyperstimulated, most likely not in the U.S., and froze the resulting embryos. As for financing it, follow the money. I suspect the word "oligarch" will be discovered somewhere in there.

the compensation tab for surrogates is helpful. We can see what sort of funds were paid out to the surrogates. It's quite a bit of money they were laying out to not then complete an adoption for prospective parents and receive any sort of return on their "investment"

What on earth did they want with all these children? I assume they could not simply present the truth, that they wanted the babies for themselves to adopt and not some non-existent other prospective adoptees. Because it is very concerning that a couple would want that many babies all at once. Recall the octomom hubbub of years ago.

Still looking for the end game here and not seeing it.

 

[FansBlowing]

Reading between the lines, what could this mean? Anyone?

Could this couple be selling the young blood of the children for anti-aging? Hopefully, the children will talk about it, if so.

Young blood transfusion - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Warwick7]

Sadly my mind went to the same place. Normal people don't have 21 babies. This sounds like a nightmarish supply/demand scenario, complete with "hotel suites" inside the house.

These are toddlers. Toddlers have no use for hotel suites. Adults do.

Oh man...I hope you are wrong.

 

[Clearsky]

Cops seize 21 kids — including 17 toddlers — from California couple who had them all via surrogacy: ‘Smells of trafficking’

Police found the children while investigating complaints of a 2-month-old’s traumatic brain injury.

nypost.com

Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, were recently found with 15 children in their Arcadia mansion. Another six of their kids had previously been moved out to other homes, WWNY 7News reported.