Arcadia couple arrested on multiple charges in surrogacy case
Silvia Zhang and Gunjun Xuan were taken into custody by local police and the FBI on several counts after a prolonged investigation into a surrogacy operation that housed 21 children.
Silvia Zhang and Gunjun Xuan, a couple from Arcadia, California, were arrested on multiple charges following a law-enforcement operation that involved local authorities and the FBI. The couple had previously drawn attention after 21 children were found living in their home and placed under the care of Los Angeles County child-welfare officials.
The investigation was initially triggered last summer when a two-month-old infant in the household suffered a head injury captured on security footage. The video reportedly shows the child crying briefly, followed by a thud, after which the crying stops. Police allege that the nanny, Chunmei Li, who appears in the footage, shook the infant. Li remains at large.
Prosecutors say the children were the result of a surrogacy operation run by Zhang and Xuan. The couple had earlier been detained on suspicion of felony child endangerment but were released without charges.
Xuan’s attorney, Mitchell Krems, stated, "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."
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Sheriff Robert Luna are scheduled to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday to provide further details. ABC7 will broadcast the briefing live.