Couple in California surrogate case also faces two lawsuits over real estate business practices

A Southern California couple at the center of a child abuse investigation that involves 21 young children, some of whom were birthed by different surrogate mothers, engaged in unethical and illegal activity while running their real estate business, according to two separate lawsuits filed by former employees.

A Southern California couple at the center of a child abuse investigation that involves 21 young children, some of whom were birthed by different surrogate mothers, engaged in unethical and illegal activity while running their real estate business, according to two separate lawsuits filed by former employees.

“They’re terrible people. They just had shady business practices,” said Tina Powers, a former real estate assistant for Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan.

Powers said she worked for the couple’s real estate company, Yudao Investments, for six months in 2022. She’s among a group of six former real estate employees who filed a class action lawsuit that accuses Zhang and Xuan of unfair treatment, including failure to pay overtime wages and failure to permit timely rest breaks.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in December 2023, is ongoing.

Zhang and Xuan have not responded to multiple requests for comment. An attorney who represented them in the class action suit and the second lawsuit could not immediately be reached for comment.