The owner of a Houston-based company that facilitates payments from intended parents to their surrogate mothers is accused of stealing millions of dollars from her clients and using the funds to pay for her aspiring music career, real estate, a clothing line and lavish trips around the world, according to court documents filed this week in Harris County.
More than 30 impacted families have joined an ongoing lawsuit filed in June against Surrogacy Escrow Account Management (SEAM), its owner Dominique Side and some of her other companies and business associates, court records show. A North Texas couple who enlisted the agency’s services filed their own lawsuit last week, and the plaintiffs in both cases were granted temporary injunctions this week by two different Harris County judges who ordered the defendants’ assets to be frozen while the cases play out.
There are hundreds of impacted clients across the country, according to a court filing by one of the plaintiffs, who accuses Side of transferring more than $2.2 million of intended parents’ escrow funds “to bankroll her music career as ‘Dom,’ a racy rap and R&B singer and music producer.”
“Hundreds of families are unable to financially assist their surrogates or ensure the safe delivery of their babies,” states the lawsuit filed on behalf of a Harris County woman. “What’s more, hundreds of surrogates throughout the country – many of which are pregnant with a child that does not belong to them – are left with no way to pay for the prenatal care that is vital to any healthy pregnancy.
“Defendants’ actions are nothing short of evil,” the lawsuit also states.
Side, her companies and the other defendants could not be reached for comment Friday. Attorneys for the defendants were not listed in online court records as of Friday.
Court documents show that Side sent an email to her clients on June 14 that said, “Due to legal action all operations have been placed on hold. At this time, I am unable to provide further details regarding this matter.”
The FBI’s Houston division has asked potential victims of SEAM, or those with information about the company and its operations, to come forward.
Not all of the escrow funds paid to SEAM are alleged to have been misappropriated, according to court records, which show that the North Texas couple utilized the company’s services for their first child, born in 2023, and did not have any issues.
Surrogacy escrow account management companies act as a typical part of a surrogacy agreement. Intended parents deposit money to pay for the surrogate’s medical expenses into an account managed by the company.
SEAM, acting as a third party, has been operating since 2015 and was responsible for holding and disbursing the money in accordance with the terms of the surrogacy agreement.
In addition to allegedly using escrow funds to pay for her music ventures, including a Houston music studio, Side is accused of using intended parents’ money on a clothing company called Nikki Green and to purchase properties both in the Houston area and New Orleans.
The next court hearings in the cases in Harris County are scheduled for later this month.
