Surrogacy 'trafficking'? Unmarried Chinese couple in the US accused of massive baby scam — 21 kids placed in foster care



A California-based, unmarried Chinese couple is under scrutiny for allegedly running a massive surrogacy fraud operation that deceived potentially dozens of American women and placed 21 young children in questionable circumstances.

Guojun Xuan, 65, and his partner, Silvia Zhang, 38, were arrested on suspicion of child abuse in May, then released on bond pending further investigation, NBC News reported. Their brief arrests were sparked by hospital staff’s reports of child abuse after their 2-month-old son sustained traumatic head injuries.

'What you did — and what you continue to do by staying silent — is foul, reckless, and cruel.'

Video evidence obtained by the Arcadia Police Department allegedly revealed that the children in Xuan and Zhang’s care “were subjected to physical and emotional abuse” by nannies, abuse that authorities suspected the couple knew “was occurring and let ... happen.” The footage allegedly showed a 56-year-old nanny violently shaking and striking the 2-month-old child.

Authorities found 15 children in Xuan and Zhang’s nine-bedroom home and another six children staying with the couple’s friends. The 21 children, who ranged from 2 months to 13 years old, were placed and remain in foster care.

It is unclear how many children were born through surrogacy. The couple is believed to have one child together naturally, and Xuan is believed to be the biological father of a 13-year-old daughter.

Surrogate mothers claimed they were told the couple had either no children or only one child and were seeking surrogates after failed in vitro fertilization attempts. They also alleged that they were not made aware that Xuan and Zhang controlled the surrogacy agency representing them.

RELATED: The sad truth behind Meghan Trainor’s surrogacy story

Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang's home. Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Surrogates told the Wall Street Journal in August that they had been in contact with federal agents, who informed them they were investigating whether the couple was selling children.

“We never sell our babies,” Zhang told the WSJ. “We take care of them very well.”

Several surrogate mothers are fighting for custody of the children they carried for the couple. Xuan and Zhang have filed lawsuits against at least two surrogates who ended contact with them before giving birth last fall, claiming a breach of contract.

Kayla Elliott, a surrogate mother, told NBC News in July that she was led to believe she was helping a couple struggling to conceive and was unaware that they had many other children. Elliott is fighting to obtain custody of the child, telling NewsNation that she suspects “there’s some type of trafficking going on.”

Tronderrica James, 30, another surrogate, filed a lawsuit against the couple, arguing that they gave misleading and false information about their intentions.

James stated that she was contacted by an individual named Jasmine in 2023, who described the couple as “longing for their miracle baby,” according to court documents. Jasmine allegedly claimed the couple could not speak with James directly because of “a language barrier.”

In an email to Xuan and Zhang, James wrote, “You gambled with my life. You gambled with the life of a child. You misled me, misrepresented your role, and may have broken multiple state and federal laws in the process — and you still haven’t had the decency to provide a single truthful explanation.”

“What you did — and what you continue to do by staying silent — is foul, reckless, and cruel,” James stated.

Xuan and Zhang reportedly remain under investigation. No criminal charges have been filed.

In the past six months, the couple has had another five babies born to surrogate mothers, the New York Post reported.

RELATED: '50 high-quality sons': Chinese men are siring US citizen 'mega-families' via surrogacy: Report

Photo by CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images

Xuan and Zhang have denied any wrongdoing, claiming that they just wanted to have a large family.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office told Blaze News that the matter remains under review by the Arcadia Police Department.

The FBI declined comment.

Xuan, Zhang, James, and the Arcadia Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.

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LA murderer sentenced to 50 years, but released after serving 6, rearrested for DUI, driving wrong way down freeway: 'The only reason he was out on the streets is because of Gascon's policies'



A Los Angeles County man, sentenced to spend decades in prison for murder and robbery in 2016, was released back in November. On Tuesday evening, he was rearrested on 11 counts, including several felonies, and some are blaming the "soft-on-crime" policies of LA District Attorney George Gascón for putting a violent offender back out on the streets.

Andrew Cachu was 17 years old in 2015 when he shot and killed 41-year-old Louis Amela outside of a burger joint. Cachu and other gang members had targeted Amela and attempted to steal his bike. When Amela resisted, Cachu's associates held Amela down and Cachu shot him in the back.

Though still a juvenile, Cachu was tried as an adult. After he was convicted, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison and was sent to begin his sentence at a juvenile facility.

However, California law changed shortly thereafter, prohibiting juveniles from being tried as adults and permitting those convicted under the old statute to appeal their case. Cachu took advantage of this opportunity last year and in a hearing to determine whether he should be transferred to an adult facility when he turned 25, Deputy District Attorney Alisa Blair — a close associate of Gascón — presented no evidence that he should. Cachu was released last November, having served just six years of his 50-year sentence.

On Tuesday evening, Cachu was rearrested for several felonies related to a motor vehicle incident. Police said that Cachu had fallen asleep at the wheel and was blocking several lanes of traffic. When they roused Cachu from his slumber, he immediately fled the scene and even drove the wrong way on the freeway in attempt to escape police. He then crashed his vehicle, at which point, police were able to apprehend him. Thankfully, no one was injured in the chase or the crash.

"He was obviously under the influence," Lt. L. Arnold said, adding that police found "many drugs" in the vehicle, according to Fox News. They charged him with evading arrest, possession of a firearm — which had been spotted in his waistband while he was still asleep — and several charges related to the possession of controlled substances.

Despite the allegations against Cachu, Gascón defended the decision not to present evidence that might have kept him in custody for the murder of Amela.

"As California law requires, our office reviewed Mr. Cachu's original case, where he had been sentenced as an adult despite committing the crime as a minor," Gascón said in a statement. "Based upon the facts of the case and the individual characteristics of Mr. Cachu we determined that we would not likely prevail in a transfer hearing because we could not prove that he would not have benefited from juvenile resources at the time of the original offense – again, as the law requires."

However, other attorneys have disputed many of these assertions.

"He is badly mistaken, or being misled, or ignorant, I don’t know which of those it is," said Kathy Cady, a California attorney representing Amela's family. "But he's just plain wrong. What he claims is ridiculous. And when you have people who have done very, very dangerous things that have negatively impacted the community, they should not be released after short prison sentences."

"He never should have been out on the streets," she added. "The only reason he was out on the streets is because of Gascón's policies and his handpicked surrogate, Alisa Blair, refused to put up any evidence…at the hearing."

Prisoner threatens to 'beat the s**t out of a peace officer' — believe it or not to game the system and benefit from policies of pro-prisoner DA



After Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón was sworn in to his new gig late last year, he immediately began making headlines for his radical policies.

For starters, Gascón — whose campaign was backed by George Soros money — announced he would do away with cash bail, not pursue prosecution enhancements for gangs and guns, and not seek the death penalty for any offenses.

Now what?

Well, Gascón's policies appear to be coming back to bite him in an uncomfortable place.

Turns out a California prisoner with a lengthy criminal history — including attempted pre-meditated murder — is trying to game the system by using Gascón's policies in order to get his sentence reduced, KCBS-TV reported.

The station said Daniel Avila left a voicemail at Gascón's office in which he threatened to attack a police officer during a prison transfer in order to get back into court so he can request the revocation of his previous sentence enhancements — right in line with Gascón's goals.

"And when I get off the bus, I'm going to beat the s**t out of a peace officer, once I get off the bus," Avila said, according to KCBS.

More from the station:

Avila has been jailed on a slew of felony charges that date back to 2005 when he was arrested in Ventura County on suspicion of fraud and identity theft. Since being imprisoned, he has been convicted of 20 felony offenses — all committed while in prison — including charges of attempted pre-meditated murder and multiple counts of assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon.

"My case is subject to the new special directive under Gascón," Avila added in the voicemail, the station said. "Ninety percent of it is enhancements, and I am trying to get back into court, OK? And, the thing is, is that, I don't want to do this."

He also said, "I'll plead guilty to it as long as you drop all the strike priors and the enhancements and everything in my other case, and we'll just do it that way," KCBS added.

The station said it reached out to Gascón's office about the voicemail but has yet to receive a response.

Anything else?

It would seem Gascón has his hands full at the moment. Last week, a judge partially ruled against his sweeping criminal justice reform package, declaring that some of his directives violated California law and would have placed his deputy district attorneys in legal and ethical jeopardy — and the ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Gascón's own deputy district attorneys.