By JAIMIE DING and HALLIE GOLDEN

A woman who almost served as a surrogate for an Arcadia couple now under investigation by authorities said she backed out after the couple asked her if any of her friends would like to carry a child for them too.

The request as well as conflicting information she was getting left the woman, Esperanza, unnerved and she decided not to sign a surrogacy contract with Silvia Zhang, who offered her $60,000. Esperanza spoke to The Associated Press on the condition that her last name not be used because she has not shared her surrogacy experience publicly.

Zhang, 38, and her husband, Guojun Xuan, 65, are now the target of an investigation by local and federal authorities after their infant child was taken to the hospital with a traumatic head injury in May. Authorities have since taken 21 children from the couple’s custody, many of whom were born by surrogate, said Lt. Kollin Cieadlo of the Arcadia Police Department, near Los Angeles.

ALSO SEE: 21 children taken from Arcadia couple after arrest for child neglect; surrogacy business questioned

Surrogacy is an agreement between parties for a woman to become pregnant, typically through an embryo transfer, and deliver a baby for the intended person or couple to raise.

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

Federal authorities’ role in investigation

Esperanza is one of at least eight women who say they were aggressively pursued by the couple to serve as surrogates. The women, many of whom were first-time surrogates, say they were given misleading or incomplete information about the couple’s family situation and intentions. Some, like Esperanza, did not move forward with carrying a child for the couple. Another who did, Kayla Elliott, is now trying to get custody of a baby she birthed in March for the couple.

Arcadia police say the FBI is involved in the investigation over whether the couple misled surrogates around the country. The FBI has not confirmed its investigation. Elliott said she was interviewed by the FBI at the end of May.

Elliott worked through a business called Mark Surrogacy, according to the contract she signed and shared with the AP. California state records show a company called Mark Surrogacy Investments LLC registered at the company’s Arcadia home until this June. Elliot’s contract listed an El Monte address for the company. An AP reporter visited that location Thursday and did not find anyone who recognized the names of the couple or Mark Surrogacy.

Zhang did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. Lawyers for Mark Surrogacy did not respond to emails seeking comment, nor did a fertility clinic involved in the embryo transfer.

In social media posts, other women who say they served as surrogates for Zhang and Xuan outlined suspicious actions including the couple not fulfilling payment obligations and weren’t present for the children’s births. Many women contacted by the AP did not respond or said they would only speak after securing an attorney.

Injured infant draws concern

Zhang and Xuan 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, according to Arcadia police.

Arcadia police did not file charges at the time, in order to finish a full investigation, Cieadlo said, and detectives were looking into possible child abuse charges and anticipated presenting a case in a few weeks.

The couple told police that they “wanted a large family” and produced what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates, including some from outside California, that list Zhang as the mother of the children, Cieadlo said. Xuan was listed as the father on at least some of the birth certificates, Cieadlo said.

Potential surrogate backs out

Esperanza’s dealings with Zhang began in 2023. She had posted in a Facebook group for people interested in surrogacy and received a message from Zhang.

Zhang said she and her partner already had an 8-year-old daughter in China but were having fertility issues. Zhang said she was working with a surrogate who was already pregnant but that she wanted “twins,” so she was pursuing a second surrogate. But Esperanza said things started to feel amiss after Zhang asked if she had any friends who also wanted to be surrogates.

“She said that she’s a realtor in Arcadia and that’s how she has a lot of money and was able to afford a lot of surrogates at the time,” Esperanza said.

Esperanza backed out of the surrogacy after the lawyer for the couple abruptly hung up on her while discussing the contract. She said the document said the couple would implant two embryos instead of one and the section requiring background information on the couple was cut out. The couple became angry when she decided not to move forward.

Esperanza showed text messages to the AP that showed Zhang offering $3,000 more if she agreed to keep going, and another $2,000 bonus after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Surrogate who wants custody of child

Elliott gave birth to a baby girl in March. She chose to be a surrogate because she “really wanted to give somebody a family.”

The Texas woman began the process when Mark Surrogacy reached out to her directly on Facebook. She signed a contract listing Xuan and Zhang as the intended parents. The contract said Elliott would receive $65,000 in a series of payments by the end of her 16th gestational week.

Elliott became wary when early in the pregnancy she flew to California to meet the couple and only Xuan showed up. As the process went on, Elliott had almost no direct contact with the Xuan and Zhang, which is uncommon in surrogacy. Most of the messaging was through texts and emails with representatives from the agency, who discouraged her from reaching out to Zhang.

“The agency was always like, ‘Oh, they’re very busy people,’” she said.

When she learned that the couple had at least two other surrogates having babies for them, she was told by the agency “they just want a big family.”

Elliott flew to California for the embryo transfer, which was done at Western Fertility Institute in Los Angeles. The clinic declined to comment on the investigation.

Neither parent were there for Elliott’s labor or delivery, and only Zhang showed up a few hours after the baby was born. The woman “didn’t seem very connected with the child … she kind of barely looked at her,” Elliott said.

After handing Elliott $2,000 in cash and giving three of her family members in the room $200 each, the woman left with the baby girl.

Now, Elliott wants custody of the girl and says she just hopes all the babies are safe. When the news first broke about the couple, she confronted Zhang on the phone and over text.

In text messages Elliott showed to the AP, Zhang wrote: “All the babies really important in our life.”

Golden reported from Seattle. AP journalist Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.