21 children removed from Arcadia home after couple accused of tricking women into surrogacy
On May 7, Arcadia Police Department officers responded to a local hospital for a report of a 2-month-old child with significant head trauma, according to Arcadia Police Department Lt. Kollin Cieadlo. Officers confirmed that the child had apparently been shaken, dropped or went through a traumatic incident.
Detectives responded to a home in the 600 block of West Camino Real Avenue and discovered there were 15 other children inside the residence, Cieadlo said. Police wrote a search warrant for surveillance footage, hard drives and phone records from the home and identified the nanny, 56-year-old Chunmei Li, as the suspect in the child abuse. Officials said they also corroborated that the parents, 65-year-old Guojun Xuan and 38-year-old Silvia Zhang, allegedly knew the child was injured and did nothing for two days.
Two days later, Zhang and Xuan were arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment and neglect and their children were taken into protective custody, police said. The nanny, Li, wasn't at the home and is still outstanding. Six other children who were temporarily away from the home at the time have since been taken into protective custody by Department of Children and Family Services and placed into foster care.
The 21 children, some who were born through surrogacy, range from 2 months to 13 years old, with the majority of them being between 1 to 3 years old, Cieadlo said. The case was deferred by the district attorney for further investigation and the couple was released without any charges being filed.
In an interview with Bioethics and Culture, a networking group that focuses on ethics in biotechnology, Kayla Elliot said she met the couple when she was done having children of her own but wanted to help others grow their family. The Texas mother of four said she first posted on Facebook about wanting to become a surrogate and that Mark Agency, the surrogacy company she used, reached out to her through social media. She said that she knows now that that should've been the first red flag.
Elliott agreed to become a surrogate for a Chinese couple, and was told the child was conceived with the father's sperm and a donor egg. She underwent an embryo transfer at Western Fertility Institute in Encino last year. During the transfer, Elliott was supposed to meet the couple in-person for the first time. Only the father was present and Elliott was told the mother had a stomach bug and didn't want to get her sick.
'Now we know that that was the same situation told to many other women that also used them,' she told the interviewer. 'It was some type of a lie.'
When Elliott was 17 weeks pregnant, she was scrolling Facebook and looking through surrogacy agency reviews. Elliott saw the Mark Agency and saw they were all negative. One woman in particular urged people not to use the agency.
'She was basically saying that we've heard stories that women have said they're using these parents and these parents have multiple women pregnant at the same time for the same family,' she said. 'And it's not disclosed ahead of time.'
Through Facebook comments, Elliott found two other women who were carrying babies for the same Chinese couple that she was. Elliott immediately reached out to her lawyer, who contacted the surrogacy agency's lawyer. Elliott was told that because the father was much older than the mother and their mentality was that they wanted to have as much children as they could before he got way too old.
'It's all B.S.,' Elliot added.
Elliott said 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.
Elliott said on discharge day, the mother wasn't holding the baby, which she thought was strange.
'You would just think somebody who wanted a baby so bad would be holding the baby or loving on the baby but she barely even looked at her,' Elliott said. 'It was weird.'
The woman handed Elliott $2,000 and thanked her for giving birth.
Since then, Elliott has launched a GoFundMe campaign for legal fees to try to get legal custody of the child she delivered who is now in foster care.
'I'm reaching out with a heartfelt request for support as I seek legal placement of the baby girl I delivered as a surrogate,' she wrote. 'Due to unexpected circumstances, babygirl, along with many others, have been placed in foster care.'
'This little one deserves stability, love, and a safe home. I am prepared and deeply committed to providing that for her, but the legal process to secure placement is complex and costly.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
10 hours ago
- Miami Herald
North Korea Openly Defies Sanctions With Help From China
North Korean oil tankers blacklisted by the United Nations have been transmitting their locations while operating in Chinese waters, openly flouting sanctions against the illicit transfer of energy to Kim Jong Un's regime and despite U.N. resolutions requiring Beijing to seize and inspect the ships. In an investigative report released on Thursday, the specialist outlet NK Pro said data from ship-tracking service MarineTraffic found at least five North Korean tankers had entered Chinese waters in July. Four were under U.N sanctions. A Newsweek map captured their partial tracks utilizing self-reported signal data captured by MarineTraffic and Global Fishing Watch. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after hours. North Korea is not banned from importing oil but faces a U.N.-imposed 500,000-barrel cap per year. Countries must report any shipments of fuel to the international body. Russia faces restrictions on its oil exports including a G7-imposed cap, which Moscow has circumvented this with a sanctions-busting shadow fleet. The data indicates North Korean vessels were getting oil from Russia's Far East, too, and will continue to get the commodity under the protection of its closest allies, Beijing and Moscow, thus undermining the sanctions regime. NK Pro said the five North Korean tankers likely sailed to Chinese waters to pick up fuel. They included the U.N.-sanctioned ships Song Won 2, An San 1, Kum Jin Gang 3 and Sin Phyong 9. The latter three had also frequented an oil pier at Russia's Vostochny Port, in the far-eastern Primorsky region, which is the main hub for North Korean fuel runs, the outlet said. The fifth vessel, the Chong Ryong San, is not sanctioned but is suspected of transporting petroleum products to North Korea's main port of Nampho and conducting illicit ship-to-ship transfers, according to a U.N. report. All four blacklisted vessels had broadcast their locations this month off eastern or southeastern China, near the reports of Zhoushan, Taizhou and Fujian. It was a sign that China was following Russia in rejecting sanctions against North Korea, said Neil Watts, a sanctions specialist and former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts on Pyongyang. Between March and November 2024, Russia supplied North Korea with over a million barrels of oil, or twice the U.N.-imposed limit, likely in payment for military support, according to the BBC, citing satellite data from the U.K.-based Open Source Center. Neil Watts, former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts: "The freer movements of North Korean vessels over the last two years, since the start of the war in Ukraine, suggest that China is following Russia in dismissing sanctions against North Korea." The North Korean tanker movements show Beijing's reluctance to enforce U.N. resolutions barring them from entering foreign ports, according to Watts, who added that such "brazen movements" are likely to continue as they see themselves untouchable under Russian and Chinese protection. Related Articles TV Drama Shows North Koreans State's Failings for First TimeKim Jong Un's Sister Reacts to South Korea's Olive BranchHow Iran Missiles Prepared US Patriot Units for Pacific WarNorth Korea Submarine Delays Frustrate Kim Jong Un's Naval Buildup 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
13 hours ago
- Newsweek
North Korea Openly Defies Sanctions With Help From China
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. North Korean oil tankers blacklisted by the United Nations have been transmitting their locations while operating in Chinese waters, openly flouting sanctions against the illicit transfer of energy to Kim Jong Un's regime and despite U.N. resolutions requiring Beijing to seize and inspect the ships. In an investigative report released on Thursday, the specialist outlet NK Pro said data from ship-tracking service MarineTraffic found at least five North Korean tankers had entered Chinese waters in July. Four were under U.N sanctions. A Newsweek map captured their partial tracks utilizing self-reported signal data captured by MarineTraffic and Global Fishing Watch. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after hours. Why It Matters North Korea is not banned from importing oil but faces a U.N.-imposed 500,000-barrel cap per year. Countries must report any shipments of fuel to the international body. Russia faces restrictions on its oil exports including a G7-imposed cap, which Moscow has circumvented this with a sanctions-busting shadow fleet. The data indicates North Korean vessels were getting oil from Russia's Far East, too, and will continue to get the commodity under the protection of its closest allies, Beijing and Moscow, thus undermining the sanctions regime. What To Know NK Pro said the five North Korean tankers likely sailed to Chinese waters to pick up fuel. They included the U.N.-sanctioned ships Song Won 2, An San 1, Kum Jin Gang 3 and Sin Phyong 9. The latter three had also frequented an oil pier at Russia's Vostochny Port, in the far-eastern Primorsky region, which is the main hub for North Korean fuel runs, the outlet said. This image from 2008 shows Port Vostochny in Russia's far eastern city of Nakhodka where North Korean vessels have reportedly loaded Russian oil. This image from 2008 shows Port Vostochny in Russia's far eastern city of Nakhodka where North Korean vessels have reportedly loaded Russian fifth vessel, the Chong Ryong San, is not sanctioned but is suspected of transporting petroleum products to North Korea's main port of Nampho and conducting illicit ship-to-ship transfers, according to a U.N. report. All four blacklisted vessels had broadcast their locations this month off eastern or southeastern China, near the reports of Zhoushan, Taizhou and Fujian. It was a sign that China was following Russia in rejecting sanctions against North Korea, said Neil Watts, a sanctions specialist and former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts on Pyongyang. Between March and November 2024, Russia supplied North Korea with over a million barrels of oil, or twice the U.N.-imposed limit, likely in payment for military support, according to the BBC, citing satellite data from the U.K.-based Open Source Center. What People Are Saying Neil Watts, former member of the U.N. Panel of Experts: "The freer movements of North Korean vessels over the last two years, since the start of the war in Ukraine, suggest that China is following Russia in dismissing sanctions against North Korea." What Happens Next The North Korean tanker movements show Beijing's reluctance to enforce U.N. resolutions barring them from entering foreign ports, according to Watts, who added that such "brazen movements" are likely to continue as they see themselves untouchable under Russian and Chinese protection.
21 hours ago
Macao police arrest former pro-democracy lawmaker for colluding with foreign forces
HONG KONG -- Police in Macao detained a man believed to be a prominent pro-democracy advocate on suspicion of colluding with outside forces in breach of the national security law. Local media outlets reported former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San was the suspect. A police statement Thursday said the 68-year-old Macao resident with the surname Au allegedly colluded with an anti-China group outside of the city and provided false and seditious materials for public display online or abroad. The man, whose full name was not disclosed in the statement, also was accused of maintaining long-term contact with multiple anti-China entities outside of Macao and repeatedly providing unfounded information to them or their media outlets for dissemination. 'This was intended to incite hatred against China's central government and Macao's government among Macao residents and even people from other countries who may not understand the truth," police said. The authorities added that the acts aimed to undermine Macao's 2024 chief executive election and trigger hostile actions by foreign countries against Macao. Au was taken from his home Wednesday afternoon for investigation, they said. Local media outlets in Hong Kong and Macao reported the man was Au. Online outlet All About Macao said it was the first publicly known arrest under the national security law after the legislation was enacted in 2009 and revised in 2023. Au's wife arrived at the prosecution's office on Thursday and was listed as a 'witness," the outlet added. The Associated Press could not reach Au by phone Thursday afternoon. Au served as a pro-democracy lawmaker in Macao's legislature dominated by Beijing loyalists before stepping down in 2021. He remained a rare voice in the city who still regularly criticized government measures and political development on Facebook and in media interviews. Since the former Portuguese colony returned to Chinese rule in 1999, Macao has grown from a monopoly-driven gambling enclave into the world's biggest gaming hub. Under Beijing's grip, its pro-democracy camp was never as influential as the one in neighboring city Hong Kong, which is a former British colony that returned to China in 1997. Its government also faced far less massive protests challenging its rule when compared to Hong Kong. More intrusive political controls were introduced to the casino hub in recent years, especially after huge anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019 that led Beijing to crack down on virtually all public dissent. A vigil commemorating China's bloody 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests was banned. Pro-democracy figures were barred from running in Macao's 2021 legislative elections. Earlier this month, an incumbent lawmaker known for his centrist stance was also disqualified from running in this year's legislative election.
