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California authorities are investigating a possible surrogacy scam after they rescued 21 children linked to a Los Angeles-area couple.
Fifteen children taken from the couple’s home — as well as an additional six children discovered living elsewhere — are now under the care of a child-welfare agency. The children were between the ages of 2 months and 13 years old, The Associated Press reported.
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The children’s legal parents are believed to be 38-year-old Silvia Zhang and 65-year-old Guojun Xuan, according to AP.
“We believe one or two were born biologically to the mother,” Arcadia Police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo said. “There are some surrogates who have come forward and said they were surrogates for the children.”
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Authorities were tipped off after the couple was arrested earlier this year when a hospital reported that their baby had a traumatic head injury. However, neglect charges were not formally pursued, according to Arcadia police.
Cieadlo said Zhang had what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates for the many children which list her as their mother, and the duo had told police that they “wanted a large family,” according to AP.
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“I’m not familiar with how the surrogacy laws work,” Cieadlo said. “We need to do a much deeper dive.”
Los Angeles TV stations quoted several women who claimed to be surrogate mothers for Zhang and Xuan, according to AP.
A company was previously registered at the couple’s address called Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC. The business license was terminated last month, AP reported, citing business records with the California Secretary of State.
Arcadia Police and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
