California couple arrested and charged with child abuse involving 14 surrogate children

The case places a spotlight on the oversight of international commercial surrogacy arrangements in California, where a couple allegedly operated an undisclosed surrogacy agency from their residence and face up to 17 years and 4 months in prison if convicted.

• •Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit child abuse in October following a police raid on their Arcadia mansion.
• •Authorities found 14 children ranging from six months to three years old living in the mansion, who prosecutors allege suffered daily beatings.
• •The investigation began in May 2025 when a two-month-old baby named Walter was hospitalized with severe head injuries initially attributed to a fall from a bed.
• •Bail was set at US$20 million for each of the two defendants, who both deny the charges and remain under custody.
• •If convicted, Guojun Xuan faces up to 17 years and four months in prison, while Silvia Zhang faces up to 11 years and eight months.
• •Police discovered 32 cameras installed in the mansion, with footage showing young children sitting for hours near desks and crying sounds emerging from a room without a camera.
• •Prosecutors allege that a nanny, Chunmei Li, inflicted the injuries on baby Walter, and she remains a fugitive.
• •The couple operated an in-house surrogacy agency named 'Mark Surrogacy' from their residential address without disclosing their ownership to surrogate mothers.
• •Multiple surrogate mothers, including Tronderrica James and five other plaintiffs, filed civil lawsuits against the couple alleging fraud and misrepresentation.
• •An external agency, Babytree Surrogacy, previously helped the couple connect with surrogate mothers starting in 2018 before cutting ties upon learning of the police investigation.