Nearly 2 dozen families claim owner of Houston surrogacy escrow company stole millions to fund lavish lifestyle

Nearly two dozen families are listed in a lawsuit accusing the owner of a Houston-based surrogacy escrow company of stealing millions of dollars from their accounts, intended to pay their surrogates and cover medical expenses, to fund her lavish lifestyle.

Nearly two dozen families are listed in a lawsuit accusing the owner of a Houston-based surrogacy escrow company of stealing millions of dollars from their accounts, intended to pay their surrogates and cover medical expenses, to fund her lavish lifestyle. The lawsuit claims that Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC, or SEAM, and its owner, Dominique Side, systemically misappropriated millions of escrow dollars, allegedly using the funds to enrich herself and fund side businesses – including a clothing line and a career as a rap and R&B singer and producer. The escrow funds also paid for Side’s “lavish trips all over the world,” designer clothing, luxury vehicles, real estate, and membership at the “Soho House,” a chain of private clubs, the filing alleges. The lawsuit was initially filed by one family last month, but 22 additional families across the country – as well as prospective parents in France and Italy – asked to join the lawsuit, the plaintiffs’ attorney announced Tuesday, claiming there are “hundreds more families” that have been victimized by SEAM’s conduct.  The lawsuit alleges that Side and the other defendants “have lured families and their surrogates into entering into a fiduciary relationship with SEAM so they could steal their escrow funds” for their benefit. SEAM provides surrogacy escrow account management services to couples and women who have agreed to act as their surrogates. The company has 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, the lawsuit states.