ARCADIA, CA. (THECOUNT) — Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, have been arrested on multiple child-abuse-related charges after authorities say 21 children were found in their care, while nanny Chunmei Li is wanted in connection with the alleged abuse of one of the infants.
The couple pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Pasadena. Prosecutors sought $100 million bail for each, citing their wealth and potential flight risk, but a judge set bail at $20 million apiece with home detention and restrictions on contact with the children.
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Their financial holdings are a major part of the case. Prosecutors say Xuan and Zhang maintained more than 200 personal bank accounts and 70 corporate accounts through which approximately $250 million was transferred annually. Investigators also found a bank statement showing more than $70 million in one account, along with antique sculptures and specialty alcohol valued at nearly $10 million.
Exactly how the couple accumulated their fortune has not been established by prosecutors. Xuan has been described in court and business records as a wealthy real-estate investor who operated Yudao Management, which held extensive property interests in the Los Angeles area.
One property tied to Xuan, a large commercial complex in El Monte, has previously drawn law-enforcement scrutiny after authorities uncovered illegal gambling and later marijuana and psychedelic-mushroom operations involving other people. Xuan has not been charged with operating those activities.
The current criminal case centers on the couple’s treatment of the children and their alleged nationwide recruitment of surrogate mothers.
Representatives of the couple’s surrogacy businesses allegedly used Facebook groups to find women willing to carry their children. Surrogates said they were presented with information portraying Xuan and Zhang as a Chinese couple in Los Angeles with one child or no children who wanted another baby.
Nevada surrogate Tronderrica James alleges in a lawsuit that a representative using the name “Jasmine” aggressively pursued her through a Facebook surrogacy group. James said she was given misleading information about the family before signing a surrogacy agreement in 2024.
Prosecutors allege Xuan and Zhang concealed the size of their family while recruiting women throughout the United States through their home-based Mark Surrogacy and Future Spring Surrogacy operation. Fifteen children were found inside the Arcadia mansion, while six others were located elsewhere. They ranged in age from 2 months to 13 years, with most between 1 and 3.
The investigation began after a hospital reported a 2-month-old infant with a traumatic head injury in May 2025. Investigators later obtained surveillance footage that prosecutors say showed nannies repeatedly physically abusing children while Xuan and Zhang monitored the activity through cameras installed throughout the mansion.
Prosecutors allege Xuan instructed a nanny to strike a child harder and participated in another beating. His attorney, Mitchell Krems, disputes that account, saying it is false that Xuan participated in beating the children and blaming the abuse on nannies.
Li is accused of violently shaking the infant whose injuries triggered the investigation. Authorities say an arrest warrant was issued for her after investigators reviewed surveillance footage, but she fled to Mexico and then China.
The children were placed in state custody, and several surrogate mothers have since sought information about or custody of babies they carried. Xuan and Zhang have also been involved in legal disputes with surrogate mothers over custody and contractual agreements.
The couple face multiple child-abuse counts as well as conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact and dissuading a witness, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. Prosecutors say the motivation for having so many children and the parentage of individual children remain under investigation.
A separate federal investigation is ongoing. Authorities have not publicly established that the couple’s fortune came from the alleged surrogacy misconduct or any other criminal activity.
Arcadia is a San Gabriel Valley city in Los Angeles County, approximately 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles and about 20 miles east of Los Angeles International Airport.
Google Maps: Arcadia, California
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