Authorities take custody of 21 kids in California while surrogate moms claim couple misled them
By ED WHITE Twenty-one children are in the custody of a California child-welfare agency while government investigate a Los Angeles-area couple and whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country Related Articles A tsunami warning is in effect along parts of Alaska s southern coast after magnitude earthquake First the shoes went back on Now at US airport precaution more liquid in carry-ons may be at hand Backstreet Boys Brian Littrell sues Florida sheriff s office over beach trespassers Nebraska sues neighboring Colorado over how much water it s drawing from the South Platte River Largest piece of Mars on Earth fetches meteoric million at New York auction Fifteen children were removed from the couple s opulent home in Arcadia after an abuse allegation in May and another six living elsewhere were also located Arcadia police Lt Kollin Cieadlo noted They range in age from months to years with greater part between and We believe one or two were born biologically to the mother he mentioned There are various surrogates who have come forward and reported they were surrogates for the children Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan are deduced to be the legal parents Cieadlo revealed They were arrested in May after a hospital disclosed that their -month-old infant had a traumatic head injury the upshot of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby Arcadia police commented The child was not taken to the hospital for another two days Cieadlo mentioned neglect charges were not formally pursued in order for an examination to continue The couple described police that they required a large family the lieutenant announced Zhang produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates including several from outside California that list her as the mother of the children Cieadlo revealed He disclosed the FBI is also part of the review A spokesperson declined to comment when reached Wednesday by The Associated Press I m not familiar with how the surrogacy laws work Cieadlo reported We need to do a much deeper dive TV stations in Los Angeles quoted women who reported they were surrogate mothers for the couple but that they didn t realize so countless other surrogates were also involved It wasn t promptly clear if Zhang and Xuan had a lawyer who could speak on their behalf Zhang did not this instant respond to an email seeking comment An aerial view shows the home of Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan on Wednesday July in Arcadia Calif where a number of children were removed from the couple s home after a child abuse allegation in May according to Arcadia police AP Photo Jae C Hong Business records with the California Secretary of State show a company called Mark Surrogacy Funding LLC was previously registered at the couple s address The preponderance latest filing shows the business license was terminated in June Kallie Fell director of The Center for Bioethics and Tradition which believes surrogacy exploits women posted a fresh YouTube video of her interview with a Texas woman Kayla Elliott who gave birth last spring She was lied to She was described this couple had one other child and they sought one more child to complete a family Fell recounted The Associated Press She didn t know they were the owners of the surrogacy agency They operate with zero oversight Elliott didn t return a request for comment But she is trying to raise money to seek to have the child placed with her I am prepared and deeply committed to providing that for her but the legal process to secure placement is complex and costly Elliott commented in her appeal on the fundraising site GoFundMe The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services which removed the couple s children explained it could not talk about its actions in a specific scenario
