Surrogacy Escrow Account Management Sued by Dozens of Families for Alleged Fraud

Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC (SEAM) and its owner, Dominique Side, have been hit with a lawsuit from nearly two dozen families that claim SEAM misappropriated millions of escrow dollars. Families around the world had paid SEAM for its escrow services to facilitate payments to their surrogates and cover medical expenses, but the lawsuit – likely to be the first of many – accuses SEAM and Side of using the funds to pay for a lavish, Hollywood-like lifestyle instead.

In June 2024, one SEAM client tried to access the $50,000 she had placed into her SEAM-managed escrow account only to find that the money had virtually disappeared. Upward of 800 other families would soon discover the same stark reality: the money they had entrusted to SEAM was gone and there was no administrative or governmental avenue to easily get it back. However, the courts did offer the opportunity to sue SEAM for escrow fraud.

Judge Freezes SEAM Accounts

Not long after the money in SEAM accounts started to disappear, a lawsuit was filed in Harris County, Texas, naming SEAM, Side, and Anthony Hall, a SEAM business partner, as defendants. As part of the legal proceedings, the judge issued a temporary injunction to freeze SEAM’s bank accounts and open them to forensic analysis. Eventually, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would lend its resources to the investigation and urge any other potential victims to contact its offices with more information. Side later updated her social media accounts to state, “Under the advice of counsel, I am not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation.”

SEAM Allegedly Steals Funds for Luxury Purchases

According to the first lawsuit filed against SEAM, the company had an “obligation as the intended parents’ escrow agent to hold escrow funds, review the expenses incurred by their surrogates, and distribute payments to the surrogate.” Instead, the 23 families say SEAM misappropriated roughly $1,000,000 in total escrow funds to make lavish and sometimes unusual purchases. A Facebook group formed of former SEAM clients includes more than 800 families who estimate more than $16,000,000 in total escrow funds were misappropriated and stolen by SEAM.

According to evidence reviewed by the courts, SEAM appears to have used misappropriated escrow funds to:

• Launch Side’s rap career as the performer/producer “Dom,” a project that likely cost more than $2,200,000.
• Fund Side’s second business and clothing line under a company named Nikki Green, LLC.
• Purchase a five-acre home in Houston, Texas for Helen Yancy, who was recently added as a defendant to the lawsuit.
• Pay off around $5,000,000 on one company-related credit card.

What Happens with SEAM Now?

SEAM’s financial accounts have been frozen and its entire business operations have been halted. A forensic analysis of its bank accounts concluded that the company did not have the funds to repay the 23 families in the initial lawsuit, not to mention the hundreds of other families that might soon sue SEAM. Therefore, at this juncture, repayment from SEAM will very likely only be possible through lawsuits.

If you paid SEAM for escrow account management services related to a surrogate pregnancy, you likely have lost some or all of the money you entrusted to the company. Therefore, you likely have the grounds to pursue legal action against SEAM. To explore your options as a Texas resident, call (361) 882-1612 and talk to an attorney from Hilliard Law. We have already accepted a claim from a family who has been impacted by SEAM’s alleged misappropriation of escrow funds, and we would be honored to stand up for your rights and finances, too.

To request a FREE and confidential case evaluation about your SEAM escrow fraud lawsuit, send an online contact form at any time.

More Information

• “Nearly 2 dozen families claim owner of Houston surrogacy escrow company stole millions to fund lavish lifestyle” (CNN)
• “Judge allows assets of Houston surrogacy escrow company to remain frozen pending investigation” (Click 2 Houston NBC)
• “New defendant named in worldwide surrogacy escrow theft lawsuit involving Houston company” (Click 2 Houston NBC)