A woman who was on the verge of acting as a surrogate for a couple from Southern California with whom the authorities are currently conducting an investigation stated that she ultimately decided against doing so after the couple asked her if any of her friends would be willing to carry a child for them as well.
Esperanza, the woman, became uneasy as a result of the request as well as the contradictory information that she was receiving, and she ultimately made the decision to decline the surrogacy contract that Silvia Zhang, who had promised her $60,000, had offered her. Because Esperanza has not disclosed her experience with surrogacy to the general public, she agreed to participate in an interview with The Associated Press on the condition that her surname not be used.
After their infant kid was rushed to the hospital in May with a traumatic head injury, Zhang, who is 38 years old, and her husband, Guojun Xuan, who is 65 years old, are now the subject of an investigation which is being conducted by both local and federal authorities. According to Lieutenant Kollin Cieadlo of the Arcadia Police Department, which is located close to Los Angeles, the authorities have subsequently removed custody of 21 children from the couple. A significant number of these children were born through surrogacy.
Surrogacy is a form of arrangement between two or more parties in which a woman becomes pregnant, generally through the process of embryo transfer, and then gives birth to a child for the purpose of being raised by the designated individual or couple.
The ages of the children range from two months to thirteen years, with the majority of them being between one and three years old.
The involvement of federal officials in the probe
One of the at least eight women who have come forward to claim that they were relentlessly pursued by the couple in order to serve as surrogates is Esperanza. Several of the women, many of whom were surrogates for the first time, claim that they were provided with information that was either deceptive or incomplete regarding the couple’s family circumstances and their objectives. A number of individuals, including Esperanza, did not proceed with carrying a child for the couple of interest. Kayla Elliott, another person who did such a thing, is currently attempting to obtain custody of a child that she gave birth to in March for the couple.
The inquiry into whether or if the couple misled surrogates located all over the country is being conducted by the FBI, according to the Arcadia police department. Regarding the probe, the FBI has not yet confirmed it. The FBI reportedly had an interview with Elliott at the end of the month of May.
Based on the contract that Elliott signed and provided with the Associated Press, it was revealed that she worked through a company known as Mark Surrogacy. According to the documents kept by the state of California, a business known as Mark Surrogacy Investments LLC was registered at the Arcadia residence of the corporation until the month of June. Elliot’s contract included an address for the company that was located in El Monte. On Thursday, a reporter from the Associated Press went to that location, but they were unable to discover anyone who was familiar with the identities of the couple or Mark Surrogacy.
Phone calls and emails sent to Zhang in an attempt to obtain a comment were not answered. Both the attorneys representing Mark Surrogacy and the fertility clinic that was engaged in the embryo transfer did not respond to emails that were sent to them seeking comment.
The pair did not fulfill their payment responsibilities and they were not present for the births of their children, according to other women who claim to have acted as surrogates for Zhang and Xuan. These accounts were shared on social media by other women who claim to have shared their experiences. A significant number of women who were approached by the Associated Press either did not answer or stated that they would only talk once they had secured legal representation.
Injured infant draws concern
As a consequence of a nanny at the residence aggressively shaking the infant, Zhang and Xuan were taken into custody in May, according to the Arcadia police department. The hospital said that the kid, who was only two months old at the time, had suffered a catastrophic brain injury.
According to Cieadlo, the Arcadia Police Department did not file any charges at the time because they wanted to complete a comprehensive investigation. Detectives were looking into the possibility of filing charges related to child abuse and expected presenting a case within a few weeks.
According to Cieadlo, the couple informed the police that they “wanted a large family” and showed what appeared to be valid birth certificates, some of which were from outside of California. These birth certificates listed Zhang as the mother of the children. At least part of the birth certificates, according to Cieadlo, listed Xuan as the father of the child as the father.
Potential surrogate backs out
2023 marked the beginning of Esperanza’s interactions with Zhang. Zhang had responded to a post that she had made in a Facebook group that was geared at those who were interested in surrogacy.
Zhang stated that she and her boyfriend already had a daughter in China who was eight years old, but they were experiencing difficulties with fertility. Zhang stated that she was working with a surrogate who was already pregnant, but she wanted “twins,” therefore she was looking for a second surrogate to carry her child. Esperanza, on the other hand, stated that she began to feel uneasy after Zhang inquired as to whether or not she had other friends who were also interested in being surrogates.
“She stated that she is a realtor in Arcadia, and that is the reason why she has a lot of money and was able to afford a lot of surrogates at the time,” Esperanza added.
After the surrogacy attorney for the couple unexpectedly hung up on Esperanza while they were discussing the contract, Esperanza decided to withdraw from the surrogacy arrangement. She stated that the papers stated that the pair would implant two embryos rather than one, and that the portion that required background information on the couple had been removed. The couple’s anger increased when she made the decision to not go with the plan.
Esperanza presented the Associated Press with text conversations that showed Zhang offered her an additional $3,000 if she consented to continue with the pregnancy, as well as an additional $2,000 payment if a baby heartbeat was detected.
Surrogate who wants custody of child
During the month of March, Elliott gave birth to a baby girl. Because she “really wanted to give somebody a family,” she made the decision to engage in the practice of surrogacy.
The woman from Texas started the process when Mark Surrogacy reached out to her personally on Facebook asking for her assistance. In the contract that she signed, Xuan and Zhang were listed as the intended parents of the child. Following the terms of the deal, Elliott was to get $45,000.
When Elliott flew to California to see the couple early on in her pregnancy, she was surprised to find that just Xuan was there. This caused Elliott to become skeptical. During the course of the process, Elliott had very little direct interaction with the Xuan and Zhang, which is a significant departure from the norm in surrogacy. The vast majority of the communication took place through electronic mail and text messages with officials from the agency, who discouraged her from making contact with Zhang.
“Oh, they’re very busy people,” she replied over and over again. “The agency was always like that.”
She was informed by the agency that “they just want a big family” after she found out that the couple had at least two other surrogates carrying their children for them.
Because the embryo transfer was performed at the Western Fertility Institute in Los Angeles, Elliott traveled all the way to California for the procedure. In response to the probe, the clinic did not provide any comments.
At the time of Elliott’s labor and delivery, neither of his parents were present, and Zhang was the only one who arrived a few hours after the kid was delivered. Elliott stated that the woman “didn’t seem to have a strong connection with the child… she kind of barely looked at her.”
Following the passing of $2,000 in cash to Elliott and the distribution of $200 to each of the three members of her family who were present in the room, the woman departed with the baby girl.
Elliott is now requesting custody of the girl and has stated that she is simply hoping that all of the infants are safe. Immediately after the news about the relationship became public, she confronted Zhang both over the phone and through text message.
Zhang wrote the following in text exchanges that Elliott made available to the Associated Press: “All the babies really important in our life.”
