Cops swoop on California castle where rich couple farmed 21 kids

Cops arrested a Chinese couple accused of farming 21 children at their castle-like California mansion.

Officers swooped on the Arcadia address early Tuesday and detained Guojun Xuan, 65, and his partner Silvia Zhang, 38, on multiple charges.

The couple allegedly exploited California’s surrogacy laws to open their own agency, Mark Surrogacy. Local law enforcement and the FBI could be seen combing their home after the early morning raid.

The pair were charged with suspicion of conspiracy to commit child abuse and witness intimidation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Xuan’s attorney, Mitchell Krems, said: “My client is innocent. It is the nanny’s wrongdoing who went on the run. He is being targeted for exercising his constitutional right to have a large family.”

The couple was arrested in May 2025 after a 2-month-old baby in their care was brought to a local hospital with a traumatic brain injury. Police accused them of child abuse and neglect at the time, but they got out on bond as the investigation continued.

Police discovered the large group of children, ranging in age from 2 months old to 13 years old, back then during their investigation and seized alarming security footage. It allegedly showed the hospitalized children being hit and violently shaken by a nanny, Chunmei Li, on May 5.

Police consider her the main suspect in the case, and an arrest warrant has been issued. She remains on the loose.

Most of the children were obtained by the couple through surrogacy, police said.

Xuan and Zhang allegedly posed as an unmarried couple who were desperate to give their daughter a sibling to prospective mothers as part of the scheme.

Their heartfelt plea attracted dozens of women who agreed to carry their children. Each mother, though, figured they were the only person carrying for the couple.

California is regarded as a prime state for surrogacy arrangements, since it allows pre-birth orders to solidify legal parentage. Zhang and Xuan, though, allegedly went a step further and opened their own surrogacy agency to establish a clear pipeline between themselves and would-be surrogates.

Kayla Elliott, a mom of four from Texas, didn’t know that Xuan and Zhang were expecting more babies with other mothers, and already had 13 tykes at the time, until she was halfway through her pregnancy.

Elliott had met Xuan during the embryo transfer, where he was flanked by two Mark Surrogacy employees. After the successful transfer, Xuan fastened a jade bracelet on Elliott’s wrist — which a translator said represented a symbol to join their family.

Each surrogate hired for Zhang and Xuan was gifted the same bracelet, the outlet reported.

A rumor alleged that the couple “were having kids for the American citizenship benefits and selling them to other people” — indicating the children were being trafficked.

Andrea Cid, a former Mark Surrogacy coordinator, previously said that the notion was crazy.

“Why would they think it’s trafficking if there’s children in the home? If there was trafficking, the children wouldn’t be there,” Cid queried.

Zhang and Xuan have repeatedly denied accusations that they were selling their children.

Officials, including Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and LA County Sheriff Robert Luna, will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday regarding the case.

All 21 of the children are in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, according to ABC 7.

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