Kayla Elliott said she was told a couple was seeking surrogacy because they had one daughter but were unable to conceive again after 10 attempts.

A potential surrogacy scam has sparked an investigation into whether a California couple misled surrogate mothers across the U.S. into giving them their babies. Twenty one kids in Los Angeles County are now in protective custody.

Twenty-one children are in the custody of a California child-welfare agency while authorities investigate a Los Angeles-area couple and whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country. Fifteen children were removed from the couple’s opulent home in Arcadia after an abuse allegation in May,