desks under the supervision of nannies.

Through an extensive surveillance system including motion-activated cameras, the couple watched as their nannies subjected the children to daily beatings and physical abuse, he said.

The nannies were told  not to leave any physical marks on the children,  Hochman said.

Before police arrived to investigate in May 2025, Zhang and Xuan told the children to deny they had been beaten.

Police examined surveillance footage that showed the nannies beating the children. They issued an arrest warrant for the nanny seen hurting a 2-month-old infant, Chunmei Li, but she could not be found.

 There will be a reckoning  for the defendants, one of whom faces more than 17 years in prison if convicted, Hochman said.

Prosecutor is not clear on why the couple insisted on such discipline

When asked about the couple's motivation, Hochman said that was part of the ongoing investigation, as is the parentage of each of the children.

Mitchell Krems, Xuan's attorney, previously told ABC7 that Xuan's goal was to raise children who become productive adults.

 The reason he has all these children is because he wants them to contribute to society. He is not a man who is self-indulgent,  Krems said.  Some who are wealthy might spend on jewelry or cars, but he is actually spending his resources to help his children become educated so that they can be the philosophers, the physicians, the researchers and the inventors that help society. 

Krems did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Tuesday's arrests.

Surrogates say they were misled

Surrogacy is an agreement between parties to have a woman become pregnant, typically through an embryo transfer, and deliver a baby for another parent.

The practice has no federal regulation, leaving it up to states to set the rules if they choose to allow it.

California is considered a  surrogacy-friendly state  because it has clear laws governing the process. Both sides are required to have lawyers, and there must be a written, notarized contract before an embryo transfer takes place.

Investigators have said they were looking into whether the couple had misled surrogates around the country. At least eight women had come forward to say they were aggressively pursued by the couple to serve as surrogates.

The women, many of whom were first-time surrogates, say they were given misleading or incomplete information about the couple's family situation and intentions.

At least one, Kayla Elliott, is now trying to get custody of a baby she birthed for the couple.

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Marcelo reported from New York City.