A Nevada-based surrogate mother thought she was helping a Chinese couple “longing for a miracle baby,” when she delivered a child for them.
Now she’s one of a number of surrogates fighting for answers after 21 children were removed from the care of Guojun Xuan, 65, and Silvia Zhang, 38, in Arcadia, California, last year.
Tronderrica James, 30, says she was aggressively pursued by “Jasmine,” a representative for the couple who approached her through a Facebook surrogacy group, in a lawsuit.
Her suit claims she was given misleading and false information about the family and their intentions.
“What you did… is foul, reckless and cruel,” she alleged of Xuan and Zhang in an August 2025 email, court records obtained by The Post show. “Tell me the truth about what happened to the baby I carried — the baby you named Poppy.”
James’ story mirrors that of others who say they were duped by the pair after being contacted by a representative from Mark Surrogacy or Future Spring Surrogacy over Facebook.
They were told they would be carrying a child for a Chinese couple in Los Angeles who had either one or no children. They were also told there was a “language barrier” preventing them speaking directly with them, according to James’ lawsuit.
None were made aware that both surrogacy agencies were actually controlled by Xuan and Zhang.
The unmarried couple were arrested on suspicion of child abuse and neglect last May and are currently out on bond, an Arcadia Police spokesperson told The Post.
They remain the subject of a state child abuse investigation, but no criminal charges have been filed.
In the last six months, five more surrogate-born babies for the couple have been born in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia, according to reports seen by The Post.
The alarm had been raised when Xuan and Zhang’s two-month-old son sustained traumatic injuries which hospital staff suspected were child abuse.
Disturbing pictures of the little boy viewed by The Post show him wearing a head and neck brace in the ICU after he was admitted to the hospital “shaking and vomiting,” according to court records.
The injuries were later attributed to a nanny shaking him, which authorities say they saw on security camera, according to an NBC report. Police say an arrest report for the nanny, Chunmei Li, in connection with alleged abuse has since been issued.
Inside the nine-bedroom Arcadia home, also raided in May, police found 15 children under the age of three. Another six of the couple’s kids were later located in nearby homes with friends or family.
Xuan and Zhang say they are parents to all of the children and that they just want a big family. They are battling to regain custody of them through courts in four states.
The couple, both born in China, are believed to have had one child together naturally, and Xuan is said to be the biological father of a 13-year-old daughter, according to NBC.
Now some of the outraged surrogate mothers are pushing to get custody of the babies they carried.
Among them is Hallie Weaver, 30, who learned of the criminal investigations into Xuan and Zhang by an email from her surrogacy attorney in July last year.
The Georgia resident had undergone an “embryo transfer” using a fertilized egg she was told was from Zhang. She was weeks from giving birth when she heard about the investigations into the couple.
“Their whole profile was a lie,” she told Courthouse News, adding that she is fighting to adopt the baby boy she gave birth to last August.
The legal status of the baby, whom she has named Gabriel, remains in limbo. As is the case with Xuan and Zhang’s other children, the state claims custody.
Meanwhile, Xuan and Zhang filed lawsuits against surrogates Melissa Epps and Stacy King, both in Virginia, after the women cut off contact before giving birth last fall.
The suits claim breach of contract and demand custody of the newborns plus $1 million from each woman, who had originally agreed to contracts of $70,000 and $45,000 plus expenses, according to CBS News.
Xuan and Zhang could not be reached for comment. They have denied any wrongdoing in court papers. Lei Bai, a lawyer who drafted contracts for the pair, declined to discuss the matter, a spokeswoman at her law office told The Post.
James and her husband, Travis, who live in Nevada with their young son, are seeking punitive damages up to $100 million, according to their lawsuit — alleging fraud, breach of contract and emotional distress.
It is not clear when James delivered a baby for Xuan and Zhang, but the court filing shows she signed a surrogacy agreement in 2024.
“You gambled with my life. You gambled with the life of a child. You misled me, misrepresented your role, and may have broken multiple state and federal laws in the process … ” James wrote in an August 2025 email to Zhang and Xuan, according to the court filing.
“You exploited my trust, my body and my motherhood.”
James declined comment, citing pending legal matters.
Another surrogate, Kayla Elliott, gave birth to one of Xuan and Zhang’s babies in March last year and also wants custody of the child, who is in state care, according to NBC News.
“I definitely think there’s some type of trafficking going on. Nobody in their right mind wants 21 children, and especially all at one time,” Elliott told NewsNation’s “Cuomo.”
Elliot’s baby was born shortly before the police raid on Xuan and Zhang’s home, which uncovered many disturbing details.
Surveillance footage from inside the Arcadia mansion showed toddlers being spanked and slapped by nannies, according to the police affidavit.
Authorities believe Zhang and Xuan were aware of the “physical and emotional abuse” the younger children were subjected to and “let it happen.”
Arcadia police earlier said the FBI is involved in the investigation over whether the couple misled surrogates around the country. The FBI has not confirmed its involvement in the case.
The investigation is reportedly focusing, according to the Wall Street Journal, on whether the couple were selling babies.
Zhang denied that in an interview with the outlet. “We never sell our babies,” she said. “We take care of them very well.”
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