Chinese American couple arrested for abusing 21 children, most born via surrogates, in California
An extremely wealthy Chinese immigrant and his wife amassed a brood of 21 children through a surrogacy scheme and raised them in a “house of horrors,” prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
A California couple, Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang, were arrested on Tuesday in connection with a surrogacy scandal. The Los Angeles District Attorney, Nathan J. Hochman, announced that they are being charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit child abuse and dissuading a witness. Bail for the couple has been set at an astonishing $100 million.
The couple gained national attention last year when authorities raided their Arcadia mansion in July 2025 and removed 21 children, most of whom were surrogate-born, into state custody. The allegations against the couple are deeply disturbing, involving severe punishment and beatings resulting in child abuse, according to Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman.
The FBI conducted a separate search at the home, separate from the sheriff's department search. A neighbor reported seeing helicopters and police at the mansion, with the entire block taped off. This is a developing story, and CBS News urges readers to check back for further updates.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- California couple arrested on child abuse charges in horrifying surrogacy probe koreatimes.co.kr
- California couple charged with child abuse in surrogacy scheme involving at least 21 children theguardian.com
- California couple arrested on child abuse charges in connection with surrogacy probe cbc.ca
- Disturbing details on arrest of California couple who had 21 kids removed from their home cbsnews.com
- California couple arrested on child abuse charges in surrogacy investigation, police say hindustantimes.com
