A California woman thought she was helping a single father start a family after answering an Instagram ad promising $120,000 for becoming a surrogate.
Then a bombshell CBS News investigation showed her documents identifying the man whose baby she was carrying.
The discovery left the surrogate, identified by the pseudonym Judy, questioning whether she should have known exactly whose child she was carrying in the first place.
Highlights
- A woman thought she was carrying a baby for a single father, but a CBS investigation revealed a billionaire was behind the pregnancy.
- Judy repeatedly tried to meet the intended father, only to be left with more questions about the man whose child she was carrying.
- The investigation uncovered a wider pattern of surrogates being kept in the dark, raising ethical concerns about the booming industry.
One person reacted, “If you are carrying a child for someone, you had better know who they are. It is irresponsible and very sad for that child.”
Judy thought she was carrying a baby for a single father until a bombshell investigation revealed the billionaire behind the pregnancy
CBS News recently released a major investigation into the U.S. surrogacy industry titled “Who do we hand the baby to? Loopholes and shady practices taint U.S. surrogacy industry.”
As part of the investigation, the outlet interviewed Judy, a single mother raising a 7-year-old daughter, who first became interested in surrogacy after seeing an Instagram ad promising a hefty payout.
For her, the opportunity was about building a more secure future for her family.
“I wanted to build a better life for me and my daughter,” Judy told the publication.
She eventually signed an agreement with Patriot Conceptions, a surrogacy agency that she said described the intended parent as a single father who wanted to expand his family.
According to CBS News, leaked documents obtained during its yearlong investigation identified the intended father as Xu Bo, a reclusive Chinese video game billionaire who has reportedly fathered more than 100 children through U.S. surrogates.
The discovery meant Judy was not simply carrying a baby for an ordinary single father, as she had understood when she signed up.
Instead, she had become one of many women reportedly carrying children for the same extremely wealthy intended parent.
Despite repeated efforts to meet the intended father, Judy was left without answers, asking, “Do I even have a right to know?”
“I can't be exact, but I know it was a large number and I just kind of sat with that information thinking, 'You know, that's a lot,'” she told the outlet. “That’s a lot of kids at one time.”
The revelation was particularly unsettling because Judy had asked to meet Xu at least five times, yet never got the opportunity to speak with him.
“The agency should've been very transparent from before getting matched… about who it is that you're having a baby for and what the family is,” Judy said. “It leaves me wondering: do I even have a right to know?”
Judy also learned that far more women were carrying babies for the same man than she had initially expected.
Despite her concerns, she said she felt bound by the contract she had already signed and needed the money.
Friends and family also encouraged her to continue with the pregnancy.
The situation highlights one of the central concerns raised by the CBS News investigation: surrogates can enter agreements without knowing whether their intended parents have simultaneously hired multiple other women.
As part of the investigation, CBS News correspondent Katrina Kaufman interviewed 32 surrogates and found that all of their embryo transfers took place in California, even when the women themselves lived elsewhere.
Chinese billionaire Xu Bo has reportedly fathered more than 100 children as he pursues an unusual family dynasty
At the center of the investigation is Xu Bo, the founder and chairman of Chinese gaming company Duoyi Network.
His alleged use of U.S. surrogacy has attracted attention because of the sheer number of children reportedly involved.
Xu's company has previously stated that he has fathered more than 100 children, while his former partner, Tang Jing, has, according to the New York Post, alleged that the actual number could be as high as 300.
Xu has disputed the larger figures. Following earlier reporting about his children, a statement attributed to him said he has custody of 12 children born through surrogacy in the U.S.
He has also publicly embraced the idea of having many children.
In a statement allegedly shared after he posted a photograph showing more than 100 young children sitting together, Xu said, “Mr. Xu Bo believes in the philosophy that more children bring more blessings, and he wishes for all his words and actions to benefit the long-term development of the Chinese nation.”
The image became another striking detail in the investigation, especially after Kaufman showed Judy the photograph.
Her reaction was immediate: “He's, like, creating an army.”
Court records have also shed light on Xu's ambitions for his U.S.-born children.
During a 2023 California court proceeding, he reportedly told a judge that he wanted to father dozens of U.S.-born children, particularly boys, whom he envisioned eventually taking over his business empire.
Notably, Judy's experience was not necessarily isolated.
Judy’s case is part of a wider investigation into surrogates who said they were kept in the dark
Other surrogates described situations in which they said they did not know they were part of a much larger network of pregnancies involving the same intended parents.
Mayra Arely Hernandez, for example, carried twins for a couple and told CBS News she did not meet them until she gave birth.
She said she didn't know the couple was working with other surrogates at the same time.
Another surrogate, Maria Castellanos, became involved with a California couple who eventually had at least 25 children through surrogacy.
These cases have raised concerns about the lack of consistent oversight surrounding commercial surrogacy in the U.S.
There is no official national tally of surrogacy births, while industry estimates suggest there may be as many as 10,000 a year.
The investigation also found that federal agencies do not track these births and that most states do not require intended parents to undergo the same kind of background checks used in many adoptions.
Ultimately, the findings serve as a public wake-up call for lawmakers, highlighting the ethical concerns, commercial pressures, and lack of protections that can leave surrogates vulnerable in the modern U.S. surrogacy industry.
“The fact that the surrogate didn’t even know who the actual intended father was should be a HUGE red flag,” one netizen wrote
