An escrow account management company for women seeking to pay their birth surrogates has been a huge scam to fund the lavish life of a Houston entrepreneur, a lawsuit claims.
Arielle Mitton, a Washington resident who hired a surrogate from Indiana, spoke out recently claiming she was robbed of thousands of dollars from Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC (SEAM), per FOX 26 Houston.
The company’s website describes SEAM as a way to connect parents to their surrogates by providing an account where parents can pay the women carrying their babies directly. However, Mitton claims the company’s owner, Dominique Side, misappropriated the money to fund her own lavish lifestyle as well as jumpstart her rap career and several other endeavors.
Mitton tells FOX 26 she placed $50,000 in the SEAM account only to find $38,000 missing from her account in June. She told reporters her surrogate is due Christmas Eve, so her and her husband were forced to work extra shifts to make up the balance.
A lawsuit filed in June by another family, Marianna Robak and Lori Hood, echoed Mitton’s complaints. Last month, their attorney announced an additional 23 other families asked to join the suit, all of whom suspect Side used their surrogate money for her own benefit.
“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,” the plaintiffs’ attorney said in a news release.
Read more of the allegations from CNN:
The families were notified by SEAM on June 4 their accounts had been put “on hold” by Capital One Bank due to “fraudulent charges,” the judge’s order states. Ten days later, Side informed all the company’s clients in an email: “Due to legal action all operations have been placed on hold. At this time, I am unable to provide further details regarding the matter,” according to the order.
The families’ forensic accountant reviewed bank records showing SEAM transferred the escrow funds into an operating account, most of which was then transferred to other bank accounts, the order says.
Bank records show Side transferred more than $2.2 million to launch her career as “Dom,” a “racy rap and R&B singer and music producer,” according to the filing. She allegedly used some of the funds to create music videos and social media content.
The records also show SEAM transferred nearly $5 million to pay for a credit card, which “appears to be related” to a music studio owned by Side and Hall, along with $275,000 to Side’s clothing line.
In October 2023, a designer clothing company named Nikki Green, LLC – partially owned by Side and Hall – showcased its clothing line at Fashion Week in Las Vegas, which was funded with the parents’ escrow funds, the lawsuit says.
Since the filing, the FBI created a form asking families who believe they were victimized by SEAM to share more information as they investigate. The lawsuit claims up to 800 more families who belong to a Facebook group allege they were also defrauded by SEAM for over $16 million dollars.
Following the allegations, Side appeared deleted her social media pages and dissolve her websites for her businesses.
“My sincerest apologies for the non-responsiveness. My company and I have been noticed that we are subject to an active investigation by federal authorities,’’ Side said in a response to FOX 26 Houston, regarding the legal debacle. “Under advice of counsel, I am not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation. Please be kindly advised that the investigation involves only me, as an individual, and SEAM, as a single-member entity.”