23 Families Seek to Join Lawsuit Over Missing Surrogacy Money in SEAM Case
16 Julio 2024 - 9:02PM
Business Wire
Plaintiffs from across the country, around the
world, seek millions; investigation shows money paid for $6.2M
music studio, luxury cars
Families from across the country, as well as one each from
France and Italy, are asking to join a lawsuit against Houston’s
Surrogacy Escrow Account Management (SEAM) and owner Dominique Side
as the search continues for the missing millions of dollars that
had been intended to help prospective parents and surrogate
mothers.
Altogether, these 23 families alone have combined losses of just
over $1 million. There are hundreds more families that have been
affected by SEAM’s actions.
While they continue efforts to track down the money, attorneys
with Shackelford, McKinley & Norton, LLP, have filed an amended
petition in the case alleging that defendants diverted substantial
funds intended for surrogates’ prenatal care to finance and fuel
Side’s other business ventures, including a prospective rap
career.
“With every layer we peel back in this case, we discover more
wickedness and greed,” said Shackelford partner Marianne Robak.
“All I can think about is how some of these defendants can sleep at
night knowing they have taken millions of dollars from innocent
people and, in some cases, ruined their victims’ chances at having
a family of their own. It makes me sick.”
Troubles with SEAM came to light in June when expectant parents
who had each deposited tens of thousands of dollars to pay women
carrying their children learned instead that their money was
apparently lost. Initially, it looked as though millions had
vanished.
However, according to the new filing, bank records show Side
transferred more than $2.2 million of the intended parents’ escrow
funds to bankroll her music career as “Dom,” a rap and R&B
singer and music producer. Some of the funds were used to create
“Dom’s” music videos and social media content, according to the
lawsuit.
Additionally, the updated lawsuit details, citing bank records,
that SEAM transferred more than $6.2 million of the escrow funds to
finance the defendants’ music studio, Vgn Bae Studios, which is now
for sale. The listing shows the music equipment and other fixtures
in the studio space are included in the purchase. That equipment is
estimated to be worth between $700,000 and $1.3 million.
The escrow money also funded Side’s lavish vacations, designer
clothing and luxury vehicles, according to the complaint. The funds
even paid for her membership to Soho House, an exclusive club for
music industry celebrities.
The case is Marieke Slik v Surrogacy Escrow Account Management,
LLC D/B/A SEAM, LLC, et al., Cause no. 2024-39298 in Harris County
District Court.
About Shackelford, McKinley & Norton, LLP
Shackelford, McKinley & Norton, LLP, is a transactional,
litigation, aviation, and entertainment law firm with attorneys and
offices in Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, and New
Orleans.
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Alyssa Woulfe 800-559-4534 Alyssa@androvett.com