On Wednesday, August 6th, The Wall Street Journal published an investigative report shedding light on the mystery surrounding the luxury surrogacy scheme of a Los Angeles overseas Chinese leader. The probe from the U.S. government is currently focusing on the involvement of the overseas Chinese military couple in child trafficking.
According to sources, the couple has obtained a total of 23 children through surrogacy arrangements, with one newborn being sent to a social welfare institution in Pennsylvania as no one came to claim the child. Additionally, at least two more mothers are currently pregnant through surrogacy, with the children yet to be born.
In early May, a baby was hospitalized due to suspected abuse, leading authorities to conduct a routine inspection at a lavish nine-bedroom mansion in the outskirts of Los Angeles. Surprisingly, they discovered 21 additional children, many born through surrogacy, most of whom were under the age of three and cared for by several nannies.
The mansion belongs to Xuan Guojun, a 65-year-old overseas Chinese leader from the Chinese Communist Party, and his 38-year-old wife Zhang Siwei (Silvia Zhang). They claim to be the parents of these children.
Xuan and Zhang were arrested on suspicion of endangering the safety of children and were each released on $500,000 bail four days later without charges.
Despite the birth certificates showing the couple as the legal parents of the children, suspicions arise due to the varying birth locations across the U.S. and very short birth intervals.
Subsequently, the government removed the children from the residence and placed them in foster care while notifying the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for further investigation.
A company named Mark Surrogacy, registered at the same address as the luxury mansion, is owned by Zhang. She claims to be the mother of these children.
Neighbors around express they did not know the couple or heard about the Mark Surrogacy company.
Many mysteries revolve around the Xuan couple, including the total number of children they have, the operation of a surrogacy business at home, and whether the organization has other clients. During several interviews conducted in both Chinese and English, Zhang either refused to answer or provided contradictory responses.
Some surrogates who worked with the organization revealed to the media that Zhang had concealed many facts prior to their surrogacy arrangements. They have since contacted federal investigators. FBI agents mentioned that one focus of the investigation is whether the couple sold these children born through surrogacy to others.
Zhang denied the accusation in an interview with the media, stating that she and her “husband” simply wanted to have as many children as possible. “We never sell children,” she said. “We take good care of them.”
Informants disclosed that earlier this year, another baby born through the Mark Surrogacy arrangement in Pennsylvania was taken over by a social welfare institution as Zhang failed to pick up the child on time.
At least two women are still pregnant with IVF babies arranged through Mark Surrogacy.
According to sources, Zhang recently contacted one of the surrogate mothers still pregnant, aiming to prepare a legal document called a “prebirth order,” enabling her to take the baby directly from the hospital after birth.
The official website of Mark Surrogacy indicates that it specializes in connecting American or international families in need of assistance with surrogate mothers. Surrogates are located throughout the U.S., receiving tens of thousands of dollars in compensation, believing they are helping a Chinese couple facing infertility issues in Los Angeles.
Between 2014 and 2020, a third of the surrogacy clients in the U.S. were from overseas, with 41% being Chinese citizens, according to a study by Emory University. Some U.S. surrogacy agencies even highlight “birthright citizenship in the U.S.” as a major selling point when catering to Chinese clients.
While U.S. law doesn’t prohibit foreign couples from having children through American surrogacy, Mark Surrogacy advertises on Facebook that they “aim to help heterosexual partners, same-sex partners, international couples, single-parent families, etc.”
However, Zhang mentioned during the interview that “Mark Surrogacy only helps our family, not others.”
Xuan is a well-known overseas Chinese leader in Los Angeles who runs a real estate company called Yudao Management with Zhang. According to former employees, property records, and documents reviewed by the media, Yudao has acquired over 100 properties in the Los Angeles area, mostly through auctions.
According to Chinese business registration records, Xuan hails from Xinjiang, where he and his family hold several business investments.
Former employees referred to Xuan as “Teacher,” overseeing employees’ work remotely via surveillance cameras within the mansion. Yudao’s headquarters were briefly located within this residence.
As per sources, the office of Mark Surrogacy was also housed in one of the bedrooms within this Arcadia mansion.
It remains unclear when Xuan and Zhang became a couple. Zhang gave birth to a daughter in 2011, her first child, after meeting a man 40 years her senior and marrying him. They relocated to the U.S., but according to divorce records, the marriage ended a decade later.
Xuan also divorced around the same time. From 2021 onwards, Xuan and Zhang have been welcoming multiple children through surrogacy arrangements.
Zhang mentioned her resolve to have as many children as possible after witnessing the pain caused by the one-child policy in China, making it a personal mission as long as she could afford it.
“We can afford to raise these children,” she stated. “And since fewer people are willing to have babies now, we decided to have more.”
Xuan did not respond to interview requests. However, he previously mentioned in a Chinese media interview that he and Zhang decided to have more children for similar reasons, claiming they are both American citizens.
Doubts about the couple arose two years after the establishment of the surrogacy business. In 2023, a surrogate mother encountered a group of strangers with authorization letters attempting to take the baby right after birth, causing alarm. Her lawyer, Rijon Charne, mentioned that other surrogate mothers had similar encounters.
Charne found these incidents suspicious and reported them to the authorities, hoping they would investigate any potential human trafficking involvement.
“If I’m mistaken, that’s fine,” she said. “But if not, this needs to be addressed.”
Around the same time, a Los Angeles judge, processing surrogacy documents, raised concerns about the extensive number of children involving Zhang and Xuan as “legal parents,” prompting child protective services to assess their home. Sources revealed that the investigation concluded with “no issues.”
Regulations on surrogacy contracts vary among U.S. states, with only New York requiring surrogacy agencies to obtain business licenses.
Zhang has been inconsistent in her explanations to different surrogates.
Last year, she provided potential surrogates with documents labeled “legal parent files,” stating she and Xuan had only one daughter.
A few months ago, Zhang submitted documents to a Los Angeles court mentioning that she and Xuan had at least a dozen children. When questioned about concealing the number of children from surrogates, Zhang did not address the inquiry.
She also told another potential surrogate that she had previously operated through Mark Surrogacy but transitioned to independent arrangements due to high fees, without revealing her role in managing the company or its location within her mansion.
After the arrest of Xuan and Zhang, the surrogate mothers began to communicate, realizing they had been deceived.
These surrogates disclosed they were unaware beforehand of the couple’s multiple contracts with surrogates or that Zhang was in charge of Mark Surrogacy.
These revelations prompted the surrogates to question who the “parents” they had carried babies for nine months truly were.
Officer Kollin Cieadlo of Arcadia mentioned that authorities are still scrutinizing numerous surveillance videos collected from the mansion. If local prosecutors decide to press charges of child abuse, the couple may face re-arrest.
The children currently remain in foster care. By law, Zhang and Xuan remain the legal parents of these children.
Authorities mentioned the mansion had a history of multiple police calls. In July 2024, a report was filed concerning suspected child abuse, indicating around six to seven children inside the house, where a woman was heard shouting and scolding at them.
On May 6th, 2025, a 2-month-old baby was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital displaying symptoms of intracranial hemorrhage, suspected of being related to abuse. Following this, the hospital alerted local law enforcement for investigation.
Upon reaching the mansion, officials found 15 infants and toddlers being cared for by six nannies, all of whom had their heads shaved regardless of gender. Authorities retrieved indoor surveillance recordings installed by Xuan, depicting children being physically disciplined, forced to squat, and one infant being vigorously shaken by a nanny.
Subsequently, all 21 children were taken from the home, and Xuan and Zhang were arrested. The FBI has since taken over the investigation.