Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan have been arrested over allegedly tricking surrogate mothers into carrying multiple children for them over the course of several years. The couple reportedly sent some of these children into foster care, although why they recruited so many surrogates remains unclear. They have been temporarily arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment and neglect.
The situation was unveiled through complaints from surrogate mothers across Texas and Florida. At least twenty-one children were taken into protective custody in Southern California following the complaints. According to the reports by police in Arcadia, CA, most of these kids are between the ages of two months and 13 years.
Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan, who are the legal parents of these children, denied any accusations of wrongdoing. According to the report by Mirror US, the couple opened a surrogacy agency called Mark Surrogacy at their home in Arcadia. It has been listed in the public records as well, so surrogate mothers who were hired by them believed that they were carrying children for Zhang and Xuan due to their infertility.
However, the scam came into light when multiple surrogate mothers discovered that they were all carrying babies for the same pair, some even at the same time. “I love being pregnant but was done growing my own family, so I thought what better way to experience pregnancy at the same time as grow their family,” Kayla, 27, a surrogate mother from Texas, told KTLA 5 News.
In a deeply troubling case reported on July 15, 2025, a Southern California couple from Arcadia, identified as Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65, were accused of orchestrating a scheme involving 21 surrogate mothers from across the United States, including Texas and Florida.…
— Upwardbound (@Upwardb75506009) July 16, 2025
She was contacted via Mark Surrogacy and gave birth to a baby on March 13 after a successful embryo transfer through IVF. However, mere two months later, she came to know that the baby had been handed over to a foster care. “It was something I never would have expected to happen—something almost unbelievable unless you’re living it,” Kayla lamented.
Later, it was discovered that the couple also placed a few other kids in foster care. Police initially launched an investigation on suspicion of child abuse when a two-month-old baby of theirs was hospitalized with head trauma.
On May 9, they were arrested again on felony child endangerment and neglect warrants. However, they were released soon after as Zhang showed evidence of being a legal mother of all 21 children who were removed from their home by the Department of Children and Family Services.
Meanwhile, their agency, Mark Surrogacy, has reportedly filed paperwork to cease operation. However, at least one surrogate mother claimed to be carrying their child at present.
