Millions stolen from Texas parents saving money for surrogacy, lawsuit says
A Texas escrow fund company is accused of stealing millions of dollars from families going through surrogacy, according to a lawsuit.
Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC, or SEAM, is a third-party escrow management company that was designed to help families going through surrogacy handle funds, according to the company’s website.
The company says it has worked with over 1,000 families.
However, according to a lawsuit, the owner of the company, Dominique Side, recently stole millions of dollars from clients, leaving them with a $0 balance in their escrow accounts.
Side told McClatchy News in an email that under advice of her council she is “not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation.”
Side and SEAM are accused of defrauding their clients by “luring them into a fiduciary relationship in order to steal their escrow funds,” the lawsuit said.
Funds vanish from accounts
The plaintiff in the lawsuit found out she would not be able to carry her own child, so she and her husband were matched with a surrogate. After being matched, the couple was told they would need to create an account with an independent escrow fund, the lawsuit said.
The couple entered into a contract with SEAM and deposited over $61,000 into the account, according to the lawsuit. The money was to be distributed by SEAM to their surrogate for expenses, according to court documents.
However, on June 4, the couple received an email from SEAM saying the company was experiencing bank issues and there would be payment delays. Then on June 14, they received another email.
“Due to legal action all operations have been placed on hold. I am unable to provide further details regarding this matter,” the second email said, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said that Side, and her business partner, formed a new escrow company called Life Escrow LLC in March. After the Life Escrow LLC was formed, SEAM clients were told that their funds were “put on hold,” the lawsuit said.
Side then transferred all money from SEAM accounts into the newly created escrow fund, the lawsuit said. SEAM’s accounts now show a balance of $0, according to the court document.
Hundreds of families affected
A Facebook group called “SEAM Breach” is made up of more than 600 families that say they have been defrauded by SEAM.
“Accounts for more than $10 million in escrow funds that have vanished,” the lawsuit said.
“This was money that my husband and I had really saved for, both of our mothers saved for this, and donated money to our cause,” Riane Woods, who is not listed in the lawsuit but was a SEAM client, told KPRC.
“It’s incredibly evil. It’s despicable. It’s disgusting,” Michael Rodriguez, another SEAM client, told the news outlet. “It just already adds scrutiny and distrust to a very sensitive issue where we already have so many challenges to become parents in general.”
Kelly Palladino told WTVT that she and her husband became clients of SEAM after trying to start a family for years. But, the $60,000 she put into her escrow account can’t be accessed now.
“We got a call from our agency, the surrogacy agency, just to let us know that our surrogate hadn’t received payments,” she told the news outlet.
Palladino requested the money back from Side through Venmo, but her request was denied, the news outlet reported.
Only one plaintiff is listed in the lawsuit. It is asking a judge to award between $100,000 to $1 million in relief.
