Latest news with #ArcadiaPoliceDepartment
Los Angeles Times
17-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
21 children removed from Arcadia home after couple accused of tricking women into surrogacy
Surrogate mothers who gave birth to children for an Arcadia couple are looking for answers after the pair were recently accused of neglect and 21 children and babies were removed from their home. 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.'
Perth Now
17-07-2025
- Perth Now
California: 21 children seized after a malicious surrogacy scheme is uncovered
Police have removed 21 children from the care of their legal parents following the discovery of an alleged surrogacy scheme. Police have removed 21 children from the care of their legal parents following the discovery of an alleged surrogacy scheme. Credit: Arcadia Police Department / Supplied Police have removed 21 children from the care of their legal parents following the discovery of an alleged surrogacy scheme. A Los Angeles couple allegedly founded a company called Mark Surrogacy, and used it to trick women into carrying babies for them under the guise that they were 'matched' with different 'infertile' couples. The women then discovered that they were all surrogates for the same couple, and had all been told the same story, with some of the babies now in foster care. Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65 are believed to be the legal parents of 21 such children between the ages of two months and 13 years old. Most of the children are between the ages of one and three. KTLA5 reported that over the course of years, the couple had allegedly tricked women from all over the United States. Police have learned that none of the surrogates knew that they were carrying the same couple's embryos. One of the surrogates, Kayla, was 'matched' with the LA couple through Mark Surrogacy. She is now attempting to raise money on a GoFundMe page to cover legal fees after she discovered that the baby she carried for the couple ended up in foster care. Kayla described the ordeal as a 'horrific situation'. '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,' she wrote. KTLA5 reportedly spoke to three other women, who said they were also surrogates for the same LA couple. Both Ms Zhang and Mr Xuan have denied any wrongdoing, but all 21 of their legal children have been taken into protective custody. The allegation came to light following an abuse allegation against the couple in May. They were arrested after their two-month-old baby suffered a traumatic head injury, which police said was a result of a nanny violently shaking and hitting the baby. The baby was only taken to hospital two days later. Police said video footage also showed other nannies abusing the children. Fifteen of the children were then removed from the couple's home in Arcadia, and police then located the six remaining children, who were living in the homes of family and friends. Ms Zhang and Mr Xuan were charged with felony child endangerment and neglect, but KTLA5 reported that they have been released since the initial arrest in May. The investigation is ongoing, and it is unclear if they will face more criminal charges related to operation of the surrogacy company. Police say the nannies have not been located.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Time of India
Baby factory busted, Chinese origin couple arrested, and 21 surrogate children rescued in mansion
Authorities in 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. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Design Thinking Artificial Intelligence Project Management others Data Science Public Policy Leadership MBA CXO Finance PGDM Management Technology Degree Digital Marketing Healthcare Data Analytics Data Science Product Management healthcare MCA Operations Management Others Cybersecurity Skills you'll gain: Duration: 22 Weeks IIM Indore CERT-IIMI DTAI Async India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 25 Weeks IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK PCP DTIM Async India Starts on undefined Get Details 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.' Live Events 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.
CBS News
19-03-2025
- CBS News
Investigators identify suspect wanted in connection to murder of father in Arcadia
Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau have identified a suspect in connection to the murder of a father in Arcadia on March 11. Zehao Lu, a 41-year-old, Chinese National, has been identified as the suspect, the sheriff's department said. They are asking for the public's help in locating him and believe he could have fled to China. Authorities warn he should be considered armed and dangerous. Last Tuesday, around 6:26 p.m. officers from the Arcadia Police Department responded to the 50 block of Woodland Avenue after receiving a call of an intruder at a home. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a 61-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. First responders provided medical assistance before taking the man to a local hospital. He later died due to his injuries. "The tragic homicide on Tuesday, March 11, resulted from a dispute between two individuals who were known to each other," Arcadia Police Chief Roy Nakamura said. "While this targeted act of violence has deeply affected us all, we want to assure the community that Arcadia remains a safe place to live and work." Two other individuals were found at the scene, a 43-year-old woman and a 13-year-old boy. Investigators said the boy had scratches on his head and neck and the woman was unharmed. They believe Lu approached the woman and her son in the driveway of their home and forced them inside when a confrontation took place with the father. Police claim Lu shot the father before fleeing from the scene. "Homicide investigators presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration on Thursday, March 13, 2025," the sheriff's department said. "One count of murder, two counts of assault with a semi-automatic handgun, and one count of burglary with a person present to commit a felony was filed against Zehao Lu. A no bail warrant with an extradition order was issued." Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
Driver careens into Arcadia massage parlor, DUI suspected
A driver suspected of being under the influence crashed into a building housing a massage parlor and donut shop in Arcadia Tuesday night. While the exact time of the incident was not released, the Arcadia Police Department posted about the crash on social media at 11:46 p.m. 5-year-old killed in late-night crash into Los Angeles building Upon arriving, officers located the vehicle involved, a white Acura sedan, had collided with the structure. Video posted to the Citizen App shows a different view of the crash site and first responders at the scene. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was inside the massage parlor or donut shop at the time of the crash. According to Arcadia police, 'alcohol was involved' in the collision. Officials reminded motorists to drive safely and responsibly, and not under the influence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
