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

[Tricia]

Please, everyone, STAY ON TOPIC.
Thank you.
Tricia

 

[Ontario Mom]

Oh man...I hope you are wrong.

I hope I am too. When they're lying to potential surrogates and telling them they only had 1 other child, when they KNEW the baby had a head injury and did nothing about it for 2 days, the FBI is involved in the investigation, and the local LE believe it's possibly a national and even international investigation (see the video at the top of the article) it's walking, talking and quacking an awful lot like the duck it appears to be. Still, I'd sure like to be wrong.

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

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

abc7.com

 

[Ontario Mom]

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

Since all of the children have been placed in protective custody, they'll be given medical examinations to assure they're in good health. If there is any evidence of physical abuse of any kind, it will be discovered.

 

[SophieRose]

21 children removed from Arcadia home after couple accused of tricking women into surrogacy

Kayla Elliott said she was tricked into carrying a child for an Arcadia couple who had multiple women serving as surrogates for them. At least 21 children were seized from the couple's home.

www.latimes.com

Elliott told the group that through her pregnancy, she had very minimal contact with the intended parents, which was another red flag. Elliott induced labor and still didn’t heard from the intended mother. Eventually, she heard from the surrogate agency, which asked if there was a closer airport to the hospital because the mother was having a difficult time getting there.

The intended mother eventually arrived six hours after the baby was born.

The woman handed Elliott $2,000 and thanked her for giving birth.

 

[Knox]

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.

No reason to suspect anything nefarious at all …

 

[Ontario Mom]

No reason to suspect anything nefarious at all …

From all I've read in the news in the last day, both local LE and the FBI investigating don't appear to share that thought.

 

[seasideForest]

From all I've read in the news in the last day, both local LE and the FBI investigating don't appear to share that thought.

I think @Knox was speaking tongue-in-cheek! JMO
Don't worry, I usually miss that type of thing online as opposed to in face-to-face conversation too.

 

[airportwoman]

From all I've read in the news in the last day, both local LE and the FBI investigating don't appear to share that thought.

I think that person was being snarky.

I also have a feeling that this surrogacy company only cared if the money was green.

 

[SophieRose]

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/questions-about-surrogacy-are-raised-in-case-of-20774874.php

Arcadia police said the six children who were not at the couple's home were found with family friends. The couple's house was “set up for a school environment,” Lt. Kollin Cieadlo said.

 

[SophieRose]

21 kids removed from California home amid probe into possible surrogacy scam, police say

More than 20 children were placed in the custody of a Southern California child-welfare agency following child abuse allegations, police said.

www.usatoday.com

Further investigation revealed that another six children were found living at other residences within Los Angeles County.

Cieadlo said he believes the additional six children were discovered across two different homes in the Los Angeles County area.

Snip

"We believe that there were three biological children, a 13-year-old, a six-year-old, and a four-year-old," Cieadlo said, noting that police were still investigating whether the children may have been part of a surrogacy scam.

Snip

Police said they are primarily focused on the child abuse and neglect allegations. Once charges are formally pursued and filed in the case, Cieadlo said police will work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to look into potential criminal violations related to the surrogacy allegations.

 

[LadyL]

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.

'
Yes but you have to agree it's VERY strange. Hopefully it's nothing like that. For the kids' sake.

 

[LadyL]

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.

That right there is enough for me for criminal charges obviously against the nanny but also against the 'parents' or whatever they are.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I think @Knox was speaking tongue-in-cheek! JMO
Don't worry, I usually miss that type of thing online as opposed to in face-to-face conversation too.

I was as well

 

[Knox]

21 children removed from Arcadia home after couple accused of tricking women into surrogacy

Kayla Elliott said she was tricked into carrying a child for an Arcadia couple who had multiple women serving as surrogates for them. At least 21 children were seized from the couple's home.

www.latimes.com

Elliott told the group that through her pregnancy, she had very minimal contact with the intended parents, which was another red flag. Elliott induced labor and still didn’t heard from the intended mother. Eventually, she heard from the surrogate agency, which asked if there was a closer airport to the hospital because the mother was having a difficult time getting there.

The intended mother eventually arrived six hours after the baby was born.

The woman handed Elliott $2,000 and thanked her for giving birth.

Who was the woman who handed her the check?

 

[Knox]

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/questions-about-surrogacy-are-raised-in-case-of-20774874.php

Arcadia police said the six children who were not at the couple's home were found with family friends. The couple's house was “set up for a school environment,” Lt. Kollin Cieadlo said.

Were three of those children the biological kids of the couple identified by LE in the article you posted?

If so, why would they not have their own kids living with them? That makes no sense to me.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Who was the woman who handed her the check?

One of the nannies posing as the adoptive mom?

 

[whiterhino]

Were three of those children the biological kids of the couple identified by LE in the article you posted?

If so, why would they not have their own kids living with them? That makes no sense to me.

Yeah it's still bizarre...

Won't LE need to do further testing to prove whose children belong to whom?

 

[tlcya]

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

 

[SluethinAway]

Just when I think I’ve hit my shock limit. This is beyond comprehension. It’s as if they created a baby farm. A very expensive, truly horrendous baby farm. What the actual bleep?

Wondering if someone was financing this operation. Seems like a way to traffic.

 

[SophieRose]

Surrogacy scandal deepens as 6 women now claim they carried babies for Cali couple caught with 21 tots

Surrogate saw many ‘red flags’ dealing with California agency where 21 children were rescued from ‘horror house’

nypost.com

For Elliot, there were other red flags involved with the birth of her surrogate baby — a girl born in March in Texas.

When she showed up for the embryo transfer in California — one of 15 US states where compensated surrogacy is legal — she was surprised to meet an elderly man who she was told was the father, who had provided his sperm along with eggs from a donor.

She was told the mother had “a stomach bug” and didn’t want to infect Elliot.

Snip

Fell also told how the woman handed $200 to Elliot and each of her children, who were in the hospital room.

Fell said it’s not clear how much Elliot was paid to carry the child, but she had told her that it was “at the lower end” of the pay scale for the service, which ranges anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000, Fell said.