Baby factory busted, Chinese origin couple arrested, and 21 surrogate children rescued in mansion
California
have uncovered what they describe as a 'deeply troubling and potentially exploitative'
surrogacy
operation after police found 15 toddlers inside a multimillion-dollar mansion in Arcadia, and later located six more children living at separate residences. The mansion is being seen as a 'baby factory' and a potential center of
human trafficking
.
Chinese-origin couple, Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, were arrested and charged with felony child endangerment. The
Arcadia Police Department
said the investigation began after a 2-month-old baby was hospitalized with a severe brain injury, believed to have been caused by the family's nanny, Chunmei Li, who remains at large.
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Police say surveillance footage showed Li violently shaking and striking the child. 'The abuse was clear and horrifying,' said Lt. Kollin Cieadlo of the Arcadia Police Department. The baby remains hospitalized.
While surrogacy is legal in California, authorities are probing whether Xuan and Zhang, who ran a now-closed company called Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC, used the system for illegal purposes. Investigators say they are now exploring potential human trafficking violations, particularly given the scale and secrecy of the operation.
Surrogacy advocates and bioethics experts say the case raises serious red flags. Kallie Fell, executive director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, told ABC7, 'This smells of trafficking. It's disturbing and emotionally damaging for the children and the women involved.'
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Police confirmed that some of the surrogates did not know others were carrying embryos from the same couple. It remains unclear how many women were involved in total. Investigators believe some were recruited from out of state.
Neighbors say the Arcadia mansion had an unusual layout, resembling a hotel, with a reception area and rows of nursery-like rooms. 'It looked more like a business than a home,' one resident told KTLA.
Zhang has denied all trafficking allegations, calling the reports 'misguided and wrong.'
All 21 children have been placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. Authorities are now working with the FBI to trace the origins of the embryos and contracts involved.
California is one of 15 US states where compensated surrogacy is legal. But critics warn that the system, if unchecked, can be exploited, turning a compassionate act into a commercialized and harmful trade.
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