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A Southern California couple at the center of a kid abuse investigation that contains 21 younger children, a pair of of whom were birthed by diverse surrogate mothers, engaged in unethical and criminality whereas running their right property alternate, per two separate complaints filed by aged employees.

“They’re unpleasant folks. They factual had shady alternate practices,” stated Tina Powers, a aged right property assistant for Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan.

Powers stated she labored for the couple’s right property firm, Yudao Investments, for six months in 2022. She’s amongst a neighborhood of six aged right property employees who filed a class motion lawsuit that accuses Zhang and Xuan of unfair treatment, including failure to pay extra time wages and failure to enable smartly timed leisure breaks.

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

Zhang and Xuan admire now not responded to extra than one requests for comment. An approved legit who represented them within the class motion suit and the second lawsuit may maybe well now not right away be reached for comment.

In keeping with Powers, Zhang and Xuan first and basic ran their right property alternate out of their Los Angeles suburban mansion, the assign police now not too prolonged ago removed 15 children amid their investigation after a 2-month-worn child used to be dropped at the sanatorium with head injuries. The kids were taken into keeping custody, police in Arcadia stated.

A spokesman for the Arcadia Police Division stated Thursday that video evidence recovered from the dwelling shows that a pair of of the younger children “were subjected to bodily and emotional abuse” by nannies, they usually judge Zhang and Xuan “knew all this used to be happening and let it occur.” An arrest warrant has been issued for the 56-12 months-worn nanny who authorities say used to be seen on digicam violently shaking and putting the 2-month-worn child who used to be hospitalized.

Zhang, 38, and Xuan, 65, were arrested in Could well maybe simply on suspicion of felony diminutive one endangerment and neglect but were released from custody pending further investigation.

Six diverse children belonging to the couple were demonstrate within the care of household and mates, police stated. It’s miles now not clear how quite a lot of the children were born to surrogate mothers.

Powers stated that after she labored for the couple, quite a lot of the rooms within the 9-mattress room home had been turn out to be workplaces, and there were cameras in each station because “they thought you were conspiring in opposition to them.”

She recalled seeing four or 5 children within the dwelling: one she believed to be biologically Zhang’s from a outdated relationship and three others who she believed biologically belonged to a girl who used to be allegedly a surrogate and a nanny. Zhang and Xuan additionally had one organic diminutive one together, Powers stated.

“We aged to call it the nursery. There admire been two girls that helped her out with that,” she stated. “One of them used to be a surrogate.”

Powers stated she never witnessed any abuse toward the children, but she stated Zhang and Xuan would cry at each and every diverse and mistreat their right property employees. She alleged that some employees were paid a lower wage than what used to be marketed within the job description, were paid slack, were denied ideal breaks, and were now not given ailing skedaddle away.

The lawsuit alleges that the workers usually labored bigger than eight hours a day with out being paid extra time, and that on most days they were now not ready to rob a “smartly timed” and “uninterrupted” meal rupture of no much less than 30 minutes.

The couple would additionally fire employees at any time when they felt fancy it, Powers stated. Many of the workers enthusiastic within the class motion lawsuit only labored for the couple for a pair of months in 2022, per the complaint.

“It used to be factual very miserable working stipulations. It used to be dysfunctional. These two yelled and screamed at each and every diverse fancy bloody assassinate, and it may maybe maybe well well factual echo all over the mansion. They would throw issues at each and every diverse. It used to be now not acceptable,” she stated. “Working for them used to be unpleasant.”

Around July 2022, the right property alternate moved out of the mansion and into an station of business constructing in El Monte. Powers stated she used to be terminated by the couple in September 2022 after she started speaking up for herself and her colleagues.

“I was insisting that they make issues better,” she stated. “They accused me of writing down one thing substandard. They got right here, locked down my computer, and expected me to defend there for the complete day waiting for my take a look at, fancy they did all people else. I factual left. And I was fancy, thank God it’s over. They were factual unpleasant folks.”

Rapidly after she used to be terminated, Powers reached out to her aged colleagues, they usually filed the lawsuit.

“The minute I left, I started making calls because I knew it wasn’t comely,” she stated.

In July 2022, every other aged employee sued the right property firm and Xuan, alleging wrongful termination, battery, assault and failure to pay extra time. Alejandro Diaz alleged in his lawsuit that Xuan threw rocks at him following an argument, brandished an assault rifle and fired him with out ideal pay.

In a inaccurate-complaint, Yudao alleged that Diaz used to be the aggressor and stated the firearm Diaz noticed used to be a toy gun Xuan had as he played alongside with his son.

Diaz started working for the couple in Could well maybe simply 2022 as an eviction manager, per the complaint. The lawsuit says that Xuan created a adverse work environment, screamed at employees, and illegally removed tenants from their homes.

Diaz described his time working for the couple as “chaotic.” He stated he used to be fired after eight days on the job following an incident with Xuan.

The suit states that at some stage in in some unspecified time in the future out to a condo property, Diaz witnessed Xuan illegally alternate the locks to a home, fighting the tenant from coming into the space. When the tenant arrived at the property, an argument ensued.

Diaz, Xuan and every other eviction manager within the raze left the property and went to every other home, the assign Xuan allegedly yelled at the tenant and fired a stun gun at the tenant’s dog, per the lawsuit. Xuan allegedly grew to change into irate and commenced kicking the tenant’s door sooner than leaving the property.

Diaz, per the lawsuit, educated Xuan that his plot of evicting tenants used to be violent and illegal. The 2 got into an argument, and Xuan is accused of fixing into “extra and further adverse” and hitting Diaz’s hand, the lawsuit says. When Diaz educated Xuan to now not the touch him, Xuan allegedly “started swinging at Diaz” and throwing rocks at him.

Assist at the station of business, Xuan requested Diaz to meet in his station of business. In keeping with the lawsuit, Xuan “started throwing station of business gadgets” at Diaz. One other employee needed to intervene and took Diaz outdoors, it says.

Diaz stated he used to be rapid that he had been fired and used to be educated to wait for his final paycheck, the suit states. He alleged within the lawsuit that as he waited for his take a look at, Xuan got right here into the garage with what perceived to be an assault rifle and stared at him “in a threatening components.” Fearing for his safety, Diaz called the police, per the lawsuit. He stated Zhang gave him his final paycheck, however it failed to consist of any of the overtime he had labored.

Diaz’s lawsuit used to be settled earlier this 12 months with a confidentiality clause, his approved legit stated.

Powers stated she has now not kept in contact with Zhang or Xuan since she used to be fired, but used to be now not vexed by the contemporary allegations. Diaz stated he always felt fancy “one thing used to be off” at some stage in his temporary employment.

“I sensed one thing cross used to be going on … but I couldn’t the truth is pinpoint it,” he stated. “I wasn’t sure what used to be happening.”

One surrogate mother, Kayla Elliott, educated NBC Records that she thought she used to be helping a pair who struggled to conceive and used to be unaware that Zhang and Xuan had so many different children. The diminutive one Elliott birthed is now in foster care, and he or she is fighting to make custody.

The Arcadia Police Division stated it’s miles working with the FBI and the Los Angeles County Division of Kids and Family Products and providers as it investigates the couple.

In a text message to Los Angeles television dilemma KTLA, a mobile phone quantity linked to Zhang stated that “any accusations of wrongdoing are inaccurate and substandard,” and he or she appears to be like forward to “vindicating the form of claims at the fitting time when and if any actions are brought.”