A California couple, Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan, has been arrested on child abuse charges, police announced on Tuesday. The arrests follow an investigation into a surrogacy scheme that reportedly involved at least 21 children.
The Los Angeles county sheriff’s department stated that Zhang and Xuan are expected to face conspiracy to commit child abuse charges. Last year, 15 children were removed from their home in Arcadia after an allegation of abuse, and an additional six children living elsewhere were also located. The children's ages ranged from two months to 13 years, with most being between one and three years old.
Police believe Zhang gave birth to one or two of the children, while the others were born via surrogate. The couple was initially arrested in May 2025 after a hospital reported a traumatic head injury to their two-month-old infant, which Arcadia police attributed to a nanny violently shaking the baby. Arcadia police did not file charges at that time, stating they needed to complete a full investigation.
The couple reportedly told police they “wanted a large family” and presented what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, some from outside California, listing Zhang as the mother. Xuan was listed as the father on at least some of these certificates.