In 2023, Cindy Bi, a venture capitalist, hired a surrogate, Rebecca Smith, to carry her male embryo to term. Both parties agreed to keep the details of the surrogacy away from the public due to protect Smith’s privacy and personal life. Smith later had a miscarriage which led to her placing a restraining order against Bi. After hearing the news, Bi targeted the surrogate with legal pressure, trying to frame the miscarriage as an act of murder.
Bi signed with a surrogacy company based in Southern California, Surrogate Alternatives Inc. Bi quickly matched with Rebecca Smith, from Bi’s words, “She was perfect, tall, healthy, young, good job. I showed her off to my friends.”
Smith soon discovered that Bi had been updating the public on Smith’s health, such as mentioning test results. This violated the contract between the women, as they had both agreed on keeping the surrogacy a secret to protect Smith’s privacy.
In late 2024, Smith was almost finished with her pregnancy. However, she and Bi were given the news that Cindy Bi’s son was stillborn. Smith had to undergo multiple surgeries after the stillbirth, nearly dying from the loss of blood.
Despite this, Bi spoke about her son, whom she named Leon. “Leon’s death was one thousand percent, one thousand percent preventable.” After the news, Bi went to her church, which gave her the idea of stalking Smith’s personal life. “I will do my best to make sure it won’t happen to other people.”
Cindy Bi hired a private investigator to dig into Smith’s personal life. Both Bi and the investigator looked into a next-door neighbor whom they assumed was Smith’s ex-partner. Bi emphasized that the man was a Black man who allegedly had misdemeanor charges.
Bi used this against Smith to smear her name in the public eye. Now calling, saying that the alleged ex-partner is a felon. “undisclosed live-in boyfriend with #felony JAIL TIME record,” as she put it online.
Bi says she understands how strange and unusual her tactics and allegations against Smith sound. “If it were not for the hard evidence, it’s too shocking to believe [Rebecca Smith] did what she did to kill my son.” Bi refuses to hear any other explanations.
Instead, Bi took to Facebook, people who disagree with Bi have said she created her own supportive echo-chamber. Detractors have said Bi has created a group that fully supports her and her actions against Smith. Many have said they enable her and frequently address Smith by dehumanizing names.
Smith wanted to return home to her normal life after the stillbirth, but she was still suffering from the aftereffects of the miscarriage. After a while, she stopped getting income from her job. Smith was left on disability benefits as she faced a large amount of bills.
Smith hadn’t heard from Bi since the miscarriage until Bi broke her silence by messaging her son a photo of her stillborn child’s fetus. Cindy sent the picture to Smith’s son, who was only seven years old at the time.
Bi is considering herself a whistleblower who wants to “protect unborn children via surrogacy.” Bi has earned up to nearly a million dollars in legal bills since last year and is continuing her campaign against Smith. She views her actions as a way to honor her son.
“I want the surrogate to be known for what she did, to be set as an example,” Bi told a news reporter. “I hope she goes to jail.” Bi later specified that she wanted Smith to be tried for murder.