Inside the surrogacy mansion scandal: 22 babies, false promises, and an FBI probe

Inside the surrogacy mansion scandal: 22 babies, false promises, and an FBI probe

In May 2025, police in Arcadia, California, responded to a hospital report involving a two-month-old baby with brain bleeding—a possible sign of abuse. At a nine-bedroom mansion linked to the case, they found 15 more toddlers, all under the age of three, being cared for by nannies. Shockingly, a Chinese-born couple living there—Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan—claimed to be the parents of all 22 children found across several properties. The couple presented U.S. birth certificates for the children, who appeared to have been born in rapid succession in different states, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Surrogates misled about the family’s intentions

Several women who acted as surrogates for Zhang’s company, Mark Surrogacy, said they were told they were helping a struggling couple build a family. Instead, they discovered Zhang and Xuan were simultaneously arranging multiple surrogacies without revealing the extent of their existing children. Some women were promised housing and $50,000 or more in compensation but reported red flags during the process—lack of medical visits from the intended parents, vague communication, and legal documents signed in impersonal settings like office supply stores.

A house of business, babies, and surveillance

The Arcadia mansion doubled as the headquarters of both Mark Surrogacy and a real estate company called Yudao Management, co-run by Xuan. Former employees said the property had dozens of surveillance cameras, and police video footage reportedly showed toddlers being slapped and forced to do squats by nannies. One nanny was caught on camera shaking the infant who was later hospitalized. Zhang and Xuan were arrested briefly but released without charges as the FBI took over the case.

A legal grey zone in commercial surrogacy

The case has raised alarm in the U.S. surrogacy industry, which is only lightly regulated. While New York is the only state requiring surrogacy agencies to be licensed, in most of the country, agencies operate freely. Mark Surrogacy was not certified by any industry group, and it remains unclear whether it had any clients beyond Zhang and Xuan. Zhang told the media she wanted many children to make up for the one-child policy in China and denied any wrongdoing, saying, “We never sell our babies.”

Conflicting identities, incomplete answers

Zhang offered inconsistent stories to surrogates and officials, at times claiming to be a hopeful first-time mother and at other times acknowledging her large family. Public records show she had children as early as 2011, and she and Xuan began using multiple surrogates around 2021. Zhang and Xuan’s background includes hundreds of property purchases through shell companies, yet their motives for raising so many children remain unclear. The surrogates, now connected through social media, are left wondering if the children were ever meant to be raised by the couple—or if something more troubling was at play.

Children in foster care, future uncertain

The 22 children remain in foster care, though Zhang and Xuan are their legal parents. At least two more surrogates are currently pregnant with children arranged through Mark Surrogacy, and one is exploring whether she can adopt the child herself. Legal experts say it may be difficult for the surrogates to gain custody, even if they were misled. As investigations continue, the scandal has cast a harsh spotlight on an industry where promises of life can conceal layers of deception.