Nearly a year after a California couple faced allegations surrounding a troubling surrogacy operation, their attorney has offered an explanation for why they sought to raise nearly two dozen children.
Guojun Xuan and his partner, Silvia Zhang, were 65 and 38 respectively when they were arrested on May 9 last year. Both were accused of child abuse and neglect at their castle-style, $4.1 million home in Arcadia.
According to Arcadia Police, officers discovered 21 children born through surrogacy at several properties connected to the couple. The children were between two months and 13 years old.
Xuan’s lawyer said his client’s aim in having such a large family was rooted in the belief that the children could eventually make valuable contributions to society.
Attorney Mitchell Krems told ABC News 7 that his client’s motivation was “rooted in a desire to help create good citizens.”
Krems said Xuan intended to devote his financial resources to educating the children and preparing them to make a positive impact on the world.
The couple has remained the focus of state and federal investigations since last summer. They were released on $500,000 bail each and have largely stayed out of public view following their arrests.
Our News Outlet reported seeing Xuan at one of his properties, located less than 10 miles from the Arcadia mansion, in August 2025.
Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang were allegedly operating a surrogacy and childcare operation from their $4.1 million castle-like Arcadia mansion
The couple remains under state and federal investigation after being released on $500,000 bail each
Attorney Mitchell Krems said Xuan wanted as many as two dozen children so they could grow up and contribute to society
Addressing the couple’s decision to have so many children, Krems acknowledged that it might appear unusual. However, he said his personal experience representing Xuan had led him to believe the decision came from what he described as altruistic intentions.
“The reason he has all these children is because he wants them to contribute to society,” the attorney said.
Krems contrasted Xuan’s spending priorities with the way some wealthy people spend money on luxury goods. He said Xuan was instead investing in education, hoping the children might one day become philosophers, doctors, researchers or inventors who benefit the wider community.
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The attorney was also asked about allegations that children may have been abused inside the Arcadia property.
Krems declined to discuss search warrants or any ongoing case because of confidentiality restrictions. He did, however, state that any broad claim that his client had been abusive was “categorically false.”
The pair has kept a low profile since posting $500,000 bail each, although Our News Outlet spotted Xuan at his office in August 2025
A warrant filed by Arcadia Police said two-month-old Baby Walter sustained serious head injuries
Surveillance footage allegedly showed a nanny spanking a child on a makeshift classroom desk, according to police
The arrests followed a hospital report to police concerning the couple’s two-month-old son, Walter, who had been brought in with traumatic head injuries, according to warrant documents.
A search warrant obtained by ABC News 7 revealed that their son suffered an apparent head injury when the couple’s nanny, Chunmei Li, was captured hitting the baby on security camera video inside the home.
The warrant stated that footage showed the baby cried for a few seconds ‘until a thud or hit is heard,’ and that the crying stopped suddenly.
Xuan and Zhang’s former staff told Our News Outlet that working for the couple felt like serving under a military regime. They claimed that employees were subjected to constant threats, screams and physical harm.
In one of the still photos taken from the video surveillance footage, a child was seen lying on his belly on top of a table with his pants down as he was allegedly being spanked by a nanny, according to the search warrant.
Our News Outlet had also revealed last year that Xuan was one of the top contributors to disgraced Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang, who pleaded guilty in June to charges that she was an illegal agent for China and helped spread propaganda in the US on behalf of the Chinese government.
He was a top contributor to Wang’s first election campaign in 2022 and provided the Chinese operative with $4,900.
The couple has had at least five more surrogate-born babies in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia after the controversy, CBS News reported in January.
All the children were also taken into state custody and the couple are fighting for their custody across four states and suing some surrogates in the process, the outlet reported.
