Houston surrogacy company scandal: Delayed charges in alleged SEAM fraud leave families in limbo

Families Frustrated as Dominique Side Investigation Drags On

What we know:

HOUSTON - Families have been waiting for months for Dominique Side to be charged and arrested, but that has yet to happen. Some surrogates have delivered, others are weeks away, and some have experienced miscarriages.

Victims of Dominique Side and her escrow company, SEAM, are concerned about the status of an ongoing federal investigation. Hundreds of victims across the country allege that Side misappropriated millions of dollars meant for families trying to become parents through surrogacy.

Victims Await Justice in Escrow Fraud Case

What they're saying:

Jennifer Kirschenbaum, an intended parent, expressed her frustration: 

"Part of me was frustrated with the reasoning that there possibly wasn’t an investigation because there wasn’t enough reports or an understanding of the true amount, which I felt was not true with the number of ways to report this."

Kirschenbaum and her partner had their first child through a normal pregnancy, their second through a surrogate, and were planning for their third. "We’ve lost multiple embryos and money. Money that we didn’t lose going to her, but for the lawyers, medical bills, compensation. But this $30,000 is insult to injury," Kirschenbaum said.

The Kirschenbaums deposited $50,000 into the escrow account managed by Side and SEAM. Now, $30,000 is missing, and Side has neither responded nor been charged.

Kirschenbaum added, "Why? How? When? Who? Come say something."

Federal Investigation Update

What's next:

The federal investigation is still active. The FBI wants to assure victims that they are working on the case and urge potential victims to submit information online through a dedicated website. 

"FBI Houston currently has an ongoing investigation related to SEAM LLC. Potential victims of SEAM LLC can submit information to FBI Houston through this website: https://forms.fbi.gov/seam/. Any referrals of victims to www.ic3.gov would be incorrect since the FBI’s SEAM website was specifically designed to intake information from potential victims and route those reports directly to our case team. All submitted reports are accessible by our case team."

Rumors of Plea Deal Inquiry

What they're saying:

When asked about rumors that Dominique Side may have inquired about a plea deal, the FBI referred us to the Office of the Attorney General. The Department of Justice stated they cannot comment on the case at this time. They have not received any evidence from the FBI to proceed with charges or arrests.

"Regarding your statement about a plea deal, I’m going to refer you to the USAO-SDTX since they are responsible for prosecutorial determinations. Lastly, we understand this case has received significant media and public attention, but it is the longstanding policy of both the FBI and DOJ that we do not provide details or updates about ongoing federal investigations except in extremely limited cases."

Let's take a look at where it all began

Timeline:

• June 15, 2024: Families allege missing funds in Houston surrogacy escrow account scandal
• June 26: FBI investigating Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, judge freezes assets
• July 16: Surrogacy escrow company SEAM embroiled in multi-million dollar misappropriation scandal
• July 24: SEAM surrogacy scandal: Families scrambling for funds
• August 8: New defendant added in Houston surrogacy escrow theft lawsuit
• August 22: SEAM scandal: Attorney of families seek extensive financial records from REGIONS Banks
• January 24, 2025: Dominique Side and SEAM under FBI investigation