US Army vet's California surrogacy agency for Chinese parents draws FBI scrutiny

A US Army veteran runs a California surrogacy agency helping wealthy Chinese parents have American-born children, raising concerns about citizenship motives and prompting an FBI referral from a former Hawaii lawmaker. The agency, Patriot Conceptions, charges $120,000 to $200,000 and recruits surrogates via social media, paying $60,000 to $120,000. Founder Haotian Bai, a Chinese immigrant who gained citizenship through military service, denies hiding client nationalities and says citizenship is not the arrangement's purpose. Bai previously faced scrutiny over Chinese internships in Hawaii and received a fellowship at Stanford's Hoover Institution. The practice exploits birthright citizenship, with an estimated 1.5 million such children raised in China.