Behind the gates of a $4.1 million castle-style mansion in Arcadia, California, a dark and disturbing scheme has been uncovered.
Authorities say Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, were harboring 21 children born through surrogacy, including 17 under the age of three, in what neighbors and investigators are calling a possible illegal surrogacy operation — or worse.
The investigation began in May when the couple brought a two-month-old infant with a traumatic head injury to a hospital, prompting a search warrant.
What police found inside the luxury estate shocked the quiet, upscale neighborhood — and drew in the FBI.
“Like a Birthing Hotel”
According to neighbors, the nine-bedroom, eleven-bath mansion appeared more like a hotel than a family home. Some said they saw pregnant women — some white — walking the grounds. Others described a “front desk” setup and constant traffic in and out of the property.
“I heard rumors this was set up like a hotel,” one neighbor told Daily Mail. “They even had a front desk manager.”
“It’s pretty suspicious,” said another local resident. “You’d never know 21 kids were inside.”
Babies, Cameras, and Abuse
Inside the home, authorities uncovered not only the children — aged between two months and 13 years old — but also surveillance footage of nannies physically and verbally abusing them, according to Arcadia Police.
The Department of Children and Family Services immediately took custody of all 21 children. Six had already been placed with other families. The rest were living in the house.
A nanny, Chunmei Li, 56, is now wanted for child endangerment. Both Xuan and Zhang were arrested and charged.
Surrogate Mothers: “We Were Lied To”
Women from across the country — from Texas to Pennsylvania — say they were recruited through what they thought were legitimate agencies, unaware they were one of many surrogates handing babies over to the same couple.
One surrogate, Kayla Elliot, 27, is now fighting to regain custody of her baby. She says she was told Zhang and Xuan were simply clients, and that the child was going to a loving family who had only one child.
“It’s horrific, it’s disturbing, it’s emotionally damaging,” Elliot told ABC7. “We were lied to.”
Elliot said she was handed $2,000 after giving birth, while her family members were given $200 each.
Another surrogate currently still pregnant told KTLA she also thought the couple were clients of a regular surrogacy firm. Investigators now believe Zhang and Xuan owned the agency themselves, misleading all involved.
Growing Fears of Trafficking
Though Zhang denies the accusations and claims she simply wanted a large family, experts and watchdogs aren’t buying it.
“That smells of trafficking,” said Kallie Fell, Executive Director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture. “What are the intentions of having that many children in one home?”
Fell says the surrogacy industry is entirely unregulated and described it as the “wild west” of reproductive tech. She’s now assisting Elliot in her custody battle and warning that what happened in Arcadia could be part of a much larger network.
A Failure of California’s System
The mansion — hidden in plain sight — is now a symbol of how California’s lack of oversight, combined with open-border-style policies and weak regulation of biotech and surrogacy, have created fertile ground for abuse.
Despite neighbors’ suspicions for years, no authorities intervened until a child was hospitalized.
“Twenty-one children! What were they planning to do with them?” one neighbor asked.
