Cops seize 21 kids — including 17 toddlers — from California couple who had them all via surrogacy

A California couple was arrested for child endangerment after being discovered with 21 children they had through their own surrogacy business, according to reports.

Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, were recently found with 15 children in their Arcadia home, according to KABC.

The oldest was 13, while six more kids were in other homes. Of the 21 total kids, 17 were under three years old and younger.

Police found the kids while investigating complaints of a two-month-old who had suffered a traumatic brain injury.

It is believed that baby was injured by the family’s nanny, 56-year-old Chunmei Li, who allegedly participated in alarming abuse.

“The discipline, both verbally and physical, was severe to the point where it supported the beliefs that child abuse was occurring inside the home,” said Arcadia police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo.

The children are all believed to be the offspring of Xuan and Zhang, and were birthed through multiple mothers hired through their own surrogacy business, according to police.

“Many of the children were birthed through surrogacy and then the male and female at the residence took legal guardianship of those kids,” Cieadlo said.

One of those surrogate mothers said they had no idea Zhang and Xuan were keeping the kids for themselves.

“It’s horrific, it’s disturbing, it’s damaging emotionally,” surrogate mother Kayla Elliot told KABC.

“These agencies, we’re supposed to trust them and follow their guidance and come to find out this whole thing was a scam, and the parents own the agency – that was not disclosed at all beforehand,” she added, explaining she was hoping to get custody of the baby she birthed for the couple.

Zhang and Xuan were not initially charged and but were later arrested. Police are still searching for their nanny.

Having so many kids through a surrogacy is not illegal, the executive director of the Center of Bioethics and Culture nonprofit told KABC, but could be easily seen as suspicious.

“That to me smells of trafficking, child trafficking,” director Kallie Fell told the outlet.

“What are the intentions of having that many children at home through these assisted reproductive technologies?”