LOS ANGELES, Calif. — An Arcadia couple who ran their own surrogacy company was charged on October 6, 2026, with conspiring to abuse the surrogate-born children living in their mansion, some as young as 2 months old, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced.
Click here to view the official Los Angeles County District Attorney release regarding the charges.
Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, both of Arcadia, were charged in case 26PDCF00918, according to the announcement.
At least 14 surrogate-born children were abused at the Arcadia home where they all lived, prosecutors said.
“The number of children who were subjected to this alleged horrific abuse is unprecedented,” District Attorney Hochman said.
Two Defendants, a Third Case, and a $100 Million Bail Request
Xuan, Guojun — one count of conspiracy to commit child abuse; one felony count of child abuse; one felony count of accessory after the fact; five felony counts of dissuading a witness.
Zhang, Silvia — one count of conspiracy to commit child abuse; one count of accessory after the fact; four counts of dissuading a witness.
Both were scheduled to be arraigned in Department D of the Pasadena Courthouse, according to the announcement. Prosecutors recommended bail of $100 million for each defendant, citing flight risk and the nature and extent of the crimes charged.
Chunmei Li, a nanny who worked at the home, was previously charged in case 26PDCF00694 with one felony count of child abuse under conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. A $105,000 warrant for her arrest remains outstanding, prosecutors said.
Sixteen Children, a Surrogacy Company, and Thirty Cameras
Xuan and Zhang are accused of conspiring to subject 15 of the 16 children living in their Arcadia home to repeated physical abuse, according to the announcement.
The pair ran their own surrogacy company and allegedly made false statements to at least two women who became surrogates, telling them Zhang was struggling to conceive, according to the criminal complaint.
Nannies were hired to supervise and discipline the children, who spent several hours a day in makeshift classrooms at the home, the complaint said. More than 30 cameras inside the home monitored the children and the nannies.
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One room had no camera, and some nannies took children inside it, where they could be heard screaming, according to the complaint.
Between April 27 and May 7, 2025, some nannies were caught on video striking the children, according to the complaint. In one instance described by prosecutors, a nanny struck a child with a shoe while Zhang and Li laughed as they watched the footage.
On April 30, 2025, Xuan allegedly told a nanny to strike a child harder, then repeatedly struck the child himself, according to the complaint.
A Baby's Head Injury, a Two-Day Wait, and an Ongoing Investigation
The suspected abuse was discovered after police responded to a report that a 2-month-old boy had suffered a head injury, according to the announcement.
Li is accused of hitting the baby on May 4, 2025. Xuan and Zhang allegedly did not seek medical treatment until two days later, when they told medical staff the baby had fallen from a bed, prosecutors said.
On May 7, 2025, before police arrived, the pair allegedly told some of the children to deny the nannies had beaten them, and Zhang is accused of instructing a nanny to hide sticks used to strike the children, according to the complaint.
“This was not a home where these children were loved and nurtured,” District Attorney Hochman said.
If convicted as charged, Xuan faces a possible maximum of 17 years and four months in state prison, and Zhang up to 11 years and eight months, prosecutors said. Li faces up to 12 years.
The cases are being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney MacKenzie Teymouri of the Family Violence Division's Complex Child Abuse Section and remain under investigation by the Arcadia Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Bureau.
The charges are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Sources
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, news release, “Pair Charged With Conspiracy, Abusing Surrogate-Born Children in Arcadia Mansion” (October 6, 2026): da.lacounty.gov/about/inside-LADA/pair-charged-conspiracy-abusing-surrogate-born-children-arcadia-mansion