On Tuesday, October 6th, Guojun Xuan, a 65-year-old overseas Chinese leader from California, and Silvia Zhang, a 38-year-old woman, were arrested for their involvement in a large-scale surrogacy case. They are accused of conspiring to mistreat children and intimidating witnesses.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman held a press conference on Tuesday, announcing the latest developments in the case.
In July 2025, a suspicious case of child abuse unfolded in Arcadia, the wealthiest Chinese city in Southern California, where 21 infants and toddlers between the ages of 1 and 3 were found confined in a $4 million mansion. These children were born to different surrogate mothers, but legal custody belonged to this Chinese “couple.” Guojun Xuan is a prominent pro-Beijing overseas Chinese leader in the local community.
Previously, one of their six live-in nannies was accused of physically assaulting an infant, causing the baby to suffer a cerebral hemorrhage, leading to an investigation into the couple.
Reports from law enforcement authorities indicated that the couple delayed seeking medical attention for the children for two days. Subsequently, the California Department of Children and Family Services investigated the matter and removed all 21 children from the couple’s guardianship.
Hochman revealed that Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang will face multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit child abuse and obstruction of witness testimony. He requested bail to be set at $100 million.
“The contents of the indictment released today are unbelievable and disturbing. It involves shocking allegations of punishment, physical abuse, and mistreatment of children,” stated Hochman during the press conference.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed to CBS News that a search warrant was executed at Guojun Xuan’s residence. This search was separate from the one conducted by the sheriff’s office.
A neighbor claimed to have seen helicopters and police cars parked near their mansion, with the entire neighborhood cordoned off.
Guojun Xuan’s lawyer released a statement saying, “My client has not committed any form of abuse. He was simply exercising his freedom to have a large family and is now facing unjust punishment. Due to restrictions imposed by the Chinese government, he wasn’t able to fulfill this desire.”
Following the exposure of the incident involving 21 surrogate children in the California mansion, surrogate mothers from Texas to Florida have come forward, stating that they believed they were helping a couple from Arcadia struggling with infertility to have a second child through surrogacy, only to realize that they were all surrogates for the same couple, some even simultaneously.