Ephemeral companies and $100 million in the bank: The mysterious fortune of the owners of the house of horrors
A dozen companies were operated by Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang, who have been charged with abusing 21 children in a luxurious Los Angeles residence
Google Maps still shows a prosperous image of Pacific Place, a business center on the busy Valley boulevard in a suburb east of Los Angeles, California. But that picture no longer matches reality. The windows of a mental health clinic and a real estate agency have been boarded up to protect the premises from vandalism. One by one, shops pulled down their shutters until the mall was almost deserted. Several businesses belonging to an enigmatic figure also closed: Guojun Xuan, a wealthy Chinese immigrant who is at the center of a chilling case involving the alleged mistreatment of 21 children at his Arcadia mansion.
Xuan, 66, and his partner, Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested days ago in a police operation in response to a serious child abuse allegation. As Los Angeles County sheriffs escorted them to patrol cars that would take them to local jails, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) searched every corner of their luxurious two-story mansion, which has nine bedrooms, ten bathrooms and a swimming pool. On the California real estate market, the property is valued at $4.5 million.
The FBI is keeping the focus of its investigation confidential. “The affidavit supporting the search warrant has been sealed by the court and, therefore, I cannot comment on the nature of the investigation,” an agency spokeswoman said in a statement sent to EL PAÍS.
The enigmatic Xuan and Zhang filled their mansion with children through a sophisticated scheme that paid up to $135,000 to women who rented their wombs. Some accepted the money without asking many questions; others barely knew their clients were “a Chinese couple” who wanted to fulfill the dream of having children. Behind the operation was Mark Surrogacy Investment, a surrogacy company in which Xuan was listed as an executive and whose corporate headquarters was the Arcadia mansion.
The company operated legally for only a few months, from February to June 2025, according to the California Secretary of State. Its closure coincides with the police investigation that exposed alleged beatings that Xuan, Zhang and a group of nannies who lived with them inflicted on children aged between two months and four years. The children are now in the care of the local government.
Another red flag was that Mark Surrogacy Investment did not generate profits; rather, it was a financial burden for its owners. “It was not that the company was financing them. They were the ones who, in fact, financed the surrogate mothers to have these children,” said Nathan Hochman, Los Angeles County prosecutor, at a press conference in which he revealed harrowing details about what he called “the house of horrors.”
“The number of children who were subjected to this alleged horrific abuse is unprecedented. The alleged corporal abuse of these children is appalling and revolting, especially at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them,” Hochman told reporters. “The motivation to have all these surrogate children is part of an ongoing investigation,” he added.
200 bank accounts
Without a fortune backing them, the pair would hardly have been able to sustain a family of that size. Xuan had access to around 200 bank accounts and at least 70 corporate accounts, whose combined value exceeded $100 million, prosecutors said at a hearing. Authorities asked that bail be set at amounts commensurate with the resources available to the couple. A judge, however, set bail at $20 million for each of them.
“The amount is absurd. It’s $100 million per each defendant,” protested Mitchell Krems, the couple’s defense attorney, in a statement quoted by ABC7. “He’s being unfairly scrutinized because he has so many children. There’s no law against having all these children, none at all, so my client is not abusive whatsoever,” the lawyer said.
Krems declined to grant an interview to EL PAÍS. He also did not answer a series of questions the newspaper sent him through a consulting and digital marketing agency. The questions addressed Xuan’s businesses, his properties in California, the large payments to the women who carried the children and the child abuse accusations.
The 15-page complaint does not focus on the couple’s financial resources. It only mentions them when detailing payments of at least $45,000 to the women who carried their children and the salaries of those who helped care for the youngsters. “Xuan took ten bundles of cash from a bag in his office, after which the defendant Zhang went to pay the nannies who lived there in cash,” Prosecutor Hochman recounted during the conference.
Another mansion in Arcadia is linked to the couple. It is on First Avenue, less than two miles from the residence searched by the FBI and the sheriffs. Court documents list it as one of the addresses registered by Silvia Zhang. The property has two floors, six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Its melon-colored façade contrasts with the white trim. Four Roman-style columns adorn the main entrance. In the front yard, a fountain with goldfish welcomes visitors. Built in 2001, the luxurious residence is valued at $3 million by Realtor.com, 16% higher than its estimated value in 2022.
A more modest property, located on a hill in Pomona, is listed as the headquarters of Hope Surrogacy, a surrogacy company that was active from March to June 2021 and that, according to California Secretary of State records, was run by Zhang. Pomona, a predominantly Hispanic suburb 30 miles east of Los Angeles, contrasts with the opulence of Arcadia.
The house on Tonner street is small compared with the couple’s mansions, but it sits in a neighborhood with privileged views and away from denser, lower-income areas. Despite its appearance, the rise in property prices puts its value at a figure that may seem disproportionate: $1 million.
Ephemeral businesses
At Pacific Place in El Monte, Xuan and Zhang’s businesses had short lives: some remained active for only a few months; others, at most, a couple of years. One company operated under the same name during two separate periods before closing permanently in January 2023.
The list of companies registered at that commercial center that list Xuan and Zhang as principals is extensive: Yudao Management, Future Spring Surrogacy, Hongxing Investment, Shangdao Management, Renquan Investment, Future Management, YZA Investment, Heavenly Way Investment and Rain Prosperity Investment.
In some of these firms, Xuan and Zhang alternated in executive roles. On a few occasions is she listed as the principal responsible party.
The Pacific Place businesses operated between April 2019 and May 2025. Although their owners did not specify to the California Secretary of State the activity of each company, court documents indicate some were related to the real estate sector.
In Mark Surrogacy Investment, the surrogacy agency headquartered at the Arcadia mansion, Xuan was listed as chief executive and Zhang as manager. Several of the children who lived in the residence were born through that company. According to authorities, Xuan and Zhang were the only clients.
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