HOUSTON – A Texas-based company is accused of stealing millions of dollars from intended parents meant for surrogates and more alleged victims are coming forward claiming to be caught in the middle of the scheme.
Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, LLC (SEAM) and owner Dominique Side are facing mounting allegations of theft as lawyers connected to a civil lawsuit told Bryce Newberry, a reporter at the NBC affiliate in Houston, that additional victims have reached out from Egypt, China, and France.
"When people come to surrogacy, it’s not a choice. It’s not like, ‘Oh, this is my first choice. I want to do this.’ It’s like, ‘I don’t really have another option’,” said Arielle Mitton, an intended parent from Bellingham, Washington.
She is the fourth alleged victim to share her story publicly with the NBC affiliate in Houston, but the lawsuit claims hundreds of families have been impacted.
Mitton is experiencing secondary infertility, which is why she and her husband took the surrogacy route for their fourth child, expected in December.
“I think this will complete our family,” Mitton said.
But she is part of a growing list of intended parents who say SEAM, which came recommended, stole money in their escrow accounts that should be paying their surrogates.
Mitton’s surrogate in Indiana hasn’t been paid since early May and at last check, her escrow account with SEAM had more than $38,000 in it.
She hasn’t been able to access SEAM’s online portal to get an updated number.
According to a lawsuit filed in Harris County, SEAM and Side defrauded clients by luring them into a fiduciary relationship earlier this month erasing social media accounts and deleting business websites.
An estimated $10 million in escrow funds have vanished, the lawsuit alleges, and have possibly been misappropriated by SEAM and Side for years to fund “other business ventures and (a) lavish lifestyle.”
On Wednesday, Bryce Newberry knocked at the Brazoria County address where Side was served the lawsuit Tuesday evening, but no one answered the door.
An automated response from Side’s email on Wednesday claimed she’s the subject of an “active investigation by federal authorities” and at the advice of counsel, “not permitted to respond to any inquiries.”
“It feels premeditated to me,” Mitton said. “How can someone have millions of dollars disappear without some sort of plan?”
Mitton has picked up extra hours at work and said she’s working on a plan to pay her surrogate, which included the creation of a GoFundMe entitled Donate to Aid for Surrogacy Journey After Escrow Fraud.
She’s also part of a Facebook Group entitled SEAM Breach, which had nearly 800 members Wednesday evening, all of whom have been somehow impacted.
“People are just desperate at this point,” Mitton said. “She just needs to do what’s right.”
SEAM borrowed money earlier this year using the value of the escrow fund, which is money that belongs to the intended parents, as collateral. Records show that lender has filed a lawsuit for defaulting on loan payments.
The FBI is seeking potential victims of SEAM and any information at this website, which was created Wednesday.