More families plan to join a lawsuit against Houston-based Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC, or SEAM—a company owned by Dominique Side, which is accused of defrauding intended parents out of millions, KPRC 2 has learned.
When the company suddenly shut down and stopped paying surrogates in mid-June, Christena Doan was 12 weeks pregnant in Rosedale, Indiana.
“We got the dreaded email that all accounts were frozen... I was just shocked,” she exclusively told KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry, after realizing her check didn’t deposit into her account. “My biggest worry was making sure that she’s okay and she’s growing, and I’m not stressing, because stress isn’t good when you’re pregnant.”
Doan dreamed for years of being a surrogate, she said, and described the experience as surreal.
“It’s something that’s been on my heart for so long, and it’s just such a blessing,” Doan said. “They’re trying to complete their family or fill a void after a significant loss."
She is now 17 weeks along and due on Christmas Eve, when she will help a family grow more than 2,000 miles away in Bellingham, Washington.
“I think this will complete our family,” Arielle Mitton told KPRC 2 last month.
She is the intended mother who had more than $38,000 in an escrow account with SEAM at the time of the sudden collapse, which should currently be paying Doan.
Mitton and Doan have instead worked out an alternative private payment plan, Doan said.
LONG READ but please ready to the END GOOD news and Terrible news in one post . She is not mine … She is not his… she...
Posted by Christena Doan on Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Court records allege Side defrauded intended parents of more than $16 million and so far, an analysis of bank records shows she diverted more than $10 million to wrongfully enrich herself and her business partners, an expert testified in court Wednesday.
More than $2 million allegedly financed her music career as a racy rap and R&B singer known as “Dom,” records show, and more than $6 million allegedly went into her music studio, Vgn Bae Studios, which operated out of a Spring Branch-area warehouse.
- Where else did the money allegedly go? Read the lawsuit.
“This is supposed to be safe and secure. Why would we ever think that our money would be moved into a hip hop artist’s account for them to just go and live a lavish lifestyle?” Doan said.
KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry asked Doan what her message would be to Side.
“I feel like she owes the intended parents and the surrogates an answer. I would like her to speak to us, because right now, the only thing we’ve got is that she is not talking and that there’s a legal investigation going on. But I would like to know how she sleeps at night and how she eats her dinner every day... then I’ll pray for her,” Doan said. “All of these families have been through so much devastation, just trying to become parents... how somebody can do that and not think about it is just mind-boggling to me.”
Side took down her public-facing social media accounts and much of the SEAM website when the alleged scheme surfaced.
She skipped a court hearing in a civil case against her and the company Wednesday and hasn’t responded to KPRC 2′s repeated requests for comment.
“I’m not sure that we’re ever going to see this money,” Doan said.
That won’t stop Doan from giving birth in just months. She’s determined to deliver a healthy baby and see her in her mother’s arms.
“Even though this is a huge storm cloud, we’re just going to push it away, make a rainbow and make our own sunshine out of this, because I’m not letting this woman win,” Doan said.
So far in Harris County, two different lawsuits have been filed against SEAM on behalf of two dozen families across the U.S. as well as in France and Italy, but court records allege hundreds of families worldwide have been defrauded by SEAM.
The FBI continues seeking information from anyone impacted.