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Authorities take custody of 21 kids in California while surrogate moms claim couple misled them
AP News ^ | Updated 3:50 PM CDT, July 16, 2025 | Ed White

Posted on 07/16/2025 2:14:13 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

Twenty-one children are in the custody of a California child-welfare agency while authorities investigate a Los Angeles-area couple and whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country.

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 said. They range in age from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3.

“We believe one or two were born biologically to the mother,” he said. “There are some surrogates who have come forward and said they were surrogates for the children.”

Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65, are believed to be the legal parents, Cieadlo said.

They were arrested in May after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby, Arcadia police said. The child was not taken to the hospital for another two days.

Cieadlo said neglect charges were not formally pursued in order for an investigation to continue. The couple told police that they “wanted a large family,” the lieutenant said.

Zhang produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, including some from outside California, that list her as the mother of the children, Cieadlo said.

He said the FBI is also part of the investigation. A spokesperson declined to comment when reached Wednesday by The Associated Press.

“I’m not familiar with how the surrogacy laws work,” Cieadlo said. “We need to do a much deeper dive.”

TV stations in Los Angeles quoted women who said they were surrogate mothers for the couple but that they didn’t realize so many other surrogates were also involved.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Zhang and Xuan had a lawyer who could speak...

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption
KEYWORDS: childabuse; china; cps; guojunxuan; silviazhang; slavery; surrogacy; trafficking
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To: Valpal1

You are wrong. There is NO federal cap on the number of children one can have while receiving welfare benefits in the United States. However, some states have implemented “family caps” or “child exclusion” policies within their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, which limit or deny additional cash assistance for children born while a family is receiving welfare. These policies are not uniform across all states, and some states have repealed them.


21 posted on 07/17/2025 10:05:57 AM PDT by RWGinger
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To: RWGinger

No cap on number of children. There is a maximum dollar amount. If a family is at max, additional children will have no effect, cash benefits will not increase.


22 posted on 07/17/2025 12:14:46 PM PDT by Valpal1 (Not even the police are safe from the police!!!)
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To: Flavious_Maximus
LOL!
23 posted on 07/17/2025 12:19:16 PM PDT by TexasGator (/i.. logo About Issues Projects Products Connect Subscribe Invest June 19, 2025 | Insight '1-1111 -)
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To: Valpal1

Exactly. BTW this is an abuse of taxpayers dollars. Why should FAMILY who pays for their own children pay to someone who has kids they can’t afford?


24 posted on 07/17/2025 4:35:27 PM PDT by RWGinger
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