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ARCADIA, Calif. () — An investigation that spanned more than a year culminated Tuesday with the arrests of an Arcadia couple accused in a surrogacy scandal involving 21 children.
Authorities arrested Silvia Zhang, 39, and Guojun Xuan, 66, during a raid at their Arcadia home. The couple pleaded not guilty during their arraignment and denied the allegations against them. They are being held on $20 million bail each.
The deputies and agents who made the arrests Tuesday have been looking into this case for well over 12 months and so has 7 On Your Side Investigates.
Here is how the surrogacy scandal unfolded:
August 2025: Investigation begins after infant is hospitalized
According to a search warrant obtained by 7 On Your Side, the investigation began after one of the couple’s children, who was 2 months old at the time, was hospitalized with an apparent head injury.
The warrant describes security camera footage involving the couple’s nanny, Chunmei Li. According to the document, the footage shows Li “placing him down out of camera sight” while “he can be heard crying.”
The baby then “cries for a few seconds until a thud or hit is heard,” and “crying suddenly stops.” After Li’s “attempt to wake him up” is “no success,” police said the video shows Li “shakes him.”
Li remains at large.
“Her whereabouts are currently unknown,” Arcadia Police Sgt. Mario Castro said.
Search warrant reveals conditions inside the mansion
According to investigators, the images showed children seated in two rows of desks alongside teachers and nannies inside the Arcadia home..
Detectives wrote that one image appeared to show an adult hitting a child in the face, while another showed a child doing squats. Another image showed a child being spanked while face down on a desk.
Sources told 7 On Your Side that at least 15 of the couple’s 21 children had lived at the 10,000-square-foot mansion before all of the children were placed in Department of Children and Family Services custody.
Neighbors and former employee describe life at the property
Neighbor Chuck Trujill, who can see the mansion from his home, told 7 On Your Side he could hear screaming coming from the property.
“Their interaction wasn’t like you would have with your child,” Trujill said.
The couple also operated a real estate business, at one point, from the mansion.
Former employee Tina Powers said the atmosphere inside the home was tense.
“Oh my God. It was really bad,” Powers said. “Within five minutes that I was there, we were all kind of looking at each other because they were yelling and screaming already. It was already volatile. And it was echoing because we were in the mansion.”
October 2025: Investigation expands beyond the home
7 On Your Side followed the couple’s business operations to a commercial complex in El Monte.
According to a complaint for abatement filed by the city, Xuan was identified as the manager of the complex.
Investigators found gambling machines and stashes of psilocybin mushrooms inside the property, according to the complaint.
The document also identified a “foreign national” and “convicted felon,” Haoren “Dragon” Ma, as the alleged “ringleader” of “unlicensed gambling” and “narcotics activities” at the complex.
Court records obtained by 7 On Your Side show police seized 84 boxes of psilocybin mushrooms from the business complex in 2023.
Couple’s surrogate reacts
Many of the 21 children were born through surrogacy.
Kayla Elliot, a surrogate from Corpus Christi who carried one of the children, described her reaction to the allegations.
“It’s horrific, it’s disturbing, it’s you know damaging emotionally,” Elliot said.
Why did the couple have so many children?
Two weeks before the arrests, 7 On Your Side returned to the Arcadia mansion seeking answers about why the couple had so many children.
A woman outside the home did not answer any questions and instead called the police as she shielded her face from 7’s camera view.
Just a few days before the arrests, Eyewitness News spoke to Xuan’s attorney, Mitchell Krems.
When asked why his client had so many children, Krems said: “That’s a great question because on the surface it seems that it is very eccentric, but I have gotten to know Mr. Xuan on a very personal level as his attorney and it has become apparent to me that his desire to have so many kids emanates from his altruism.”
Following Tuesday’s arrests, Krems told 7 there are many aspects of the case he cannot comment on. He also said any general accusation that Xuan was abusive is false and that allegations outlined by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman were a mischaracterization.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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