Pregnant surrogate left in dark after California couple investigation

(NewsNation) — A large Pennsylvania pistillate who served arsenic a surrogate for a California mates — who are present accused of moving a monolithic surrogacy scam — says she feels abandoned and uncertain astir the baby's future.

Alexa Fasold, who is owed successful October, said she and her hubby believed they were helping a household struggling with infertility person their archetypal child. Instead, they discovered the mates allegedly operated a surrogacy agency that facilitated the births of 21 children, each of whom were removed from the location past month.

"We were nether the content that we were moving with a household who was struggling with infertility for their archetypal child," Fasold said Friday connected NewsNation’s “CUOMO.” "We thought we were answering a supplication present that again seems to person turned around."

21 kids removed from location successful alleged surrogacy scam operation

The couple, 38-year-old Silvia Zhang and her 65-year-old hubby Guojun Xuan, allegedly scammed aggregate surrogates done their agency, Mark Surrogacy.

Authorities accidental 17 of the 21 children removed from their California location are younger than 3, and astir were calved utilizing gestational surrogates who had nary familial transportation to the embryos they carried.

The probe began successful May erstwhile constabulary suspected a 2-month-old had been abused. Surveillance footage showed a nanny, Chunmei Li, shaking the baby; that nanny remains connected the run. The mates was arrested connected neglect charges but released arsenic investigators continued gathering their case.

Fasold said each connection went done the bureau due to the fact that she and her hubby wanted an anonymous statement with minimal interaction with the intended parents. Now that the bureau has been terminated, she has nary nonstop interaction with anyone involved.

"Since the bureau was our superior and lone contact, and present that that ownership is going done each this and past Mark Surrogacy wholly terminated the business, it benignant of near america successful the blank," Fasold said.

Attorney alerted FBI 2 years agone astir suspicious activity

Attorney Rijon Charne, who represented 3 different surrogates hired by the couple, alerted the FBI astir suspicious enactment much than 2 years ago. She said radical who were not the intended parents showed up to a infirmary with a powerfulness of lawyer requesting to instrumentality a child.

"This doesn't hap successful the surrogacy industry," Charne told NewsNation. "I've been successful this manufacture a truly agelong time. And it was horrifying."

It remains unclear whether each the children stock the aforesaid familial material.

Charne said she knows an ovum donor and the intended father's sperm were utilized successful the cases she handled, but couldn't corroborate if the aforesaid ovum donor was utilized for each pregnancies.

Surrogate wants to guarantee baby's information aft October birth

Fasold, who has ne'er been a surrogate before, said she doesn't needfully privation to support the babe but wants to guarantee the child's safety.

"We person ne'er looked astatine ourselves arsenic being successful a spot to wanting to needfully clasp connected to the baby," she said. "But we bash privation to marque definite he's safe, whether that happens to beryllium with america oregon different family, whether that's successful foster attraction and going done a system."

The mates claimed they simply wanted a ample household and denied immoderate wrongdoing. The children, ranging from 2 months to 13 years old, are present successful foster care.