A Texas-based escrow company entrusted with managing funds to pay surrogate mothers is accused of stealing millions of dollars from people looking to expand their families in the region and around the world.
The allegations against Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC (SEAM) are set out in a civil lawsuit filed in Houston Municipal Court.
According to lawyers, the company was supposed to manage and distribute funds to surrogate mothers who carried other people’s babies – often people who were unable to conceive on their own.
At a hearing in Houston this week, lawyers charged that SEAM’s owner used money from surrogacy escrow accounts to fund his budding rap career and other lavish personal expenses, which they say has left countless families in limbo.
Aaron and Katherine Melton of Fairfax County say they are one of those families. After giving birth to their healthy son, Jackson, now 5, the Meltons lost their second and third newborn sons due to rare complications Katherine experienced during delivery.
“We have two sons who have passed away – James and Noah. James will be three and a half in September this year and Noah will be two,” Catherine said.
The couple cherish memories of their sons, who they spent many days with before James’ death and Noah, who was stillborn.
“We have so much love in our hearts from having held him, loving him and then losing him,” Katherine said, “so after losing Noah, it just wasn’t safe for me to continue having children.”
After months of healing and soul-searching, the couple decided to try again, this time through a surrogate, and Aaron shared how difficult the decision was.
“It took me a long time to warm to the idea of surrogacy, but I eventually did and found a small surrogacy company that introduced me to a wonderful woman who would be my surrogate mother,” he said.
The family’s agency encouraged them to deposit funds into a surrogate escrow account, which would manage payments to the surrogate and cover everything from medical appointments and travel to clothing. They deposited about $52,000 with SEAM LLC, a highly regarded Houston company run by Dominique Syed, who said in a video posted to the company’s website that she was once a surrogate mother.
The couple was alerted that something was wrong after receiving an email from SEAM informing them that access to their funds had been temporarily slowed. Then things quickly went from bad to worse.
When the Meltons received a letter from Mr. Syed last month informing them that she and her company were under federal investigation, Ms. Melton reacted in disbelief.
“I am frozen in shock from the trauma I have experienced,” she said. “I honestly have no idea where to start picking up the pieces of this tragedy that was relayed to us in an email.”
In a civil lawsuit filed in Houston District Court on behalf of another client who claims to have lost $60,000, Syed is accused of running an “elaborate surrogacy escrow fraud.” According to the lawyers who filed the suit, the lawsuit lays out how she allegedly used more than $10 million she took from an estimated 250 families. The suit also accuses Syed of using the money for business ventures and an “extravagant” lifestyle, including funding a custom-built music studio where she records rap and R&B music under the name Dom.
Marianne Robach, the lawyer who filed the original lawsuit, has represented more than 20 families to date.
“In this case, we’re not just talking about people’s money, we’re talking about their hopes and happiness for their future families,” Robach said. “It’s a tragedy.”
Robach told the I-Team that in cases like this, money doesn’t disappear, it just changes form, and her plan is to hunt down these assets, turn them into cash and provide relief to these families.
The I-Team tried to reach Syed for comment but received an email that read, in part, “On the advice of my attorney, I am not permitted to answer any inquiries regarding the investigation.”
Syed did not appear at the hearing in Houston this week, but her music studio co-owner Anthony Hall, who is also named in the lawsuit, did. Hall said in court that he is both a music producer and a victim. He said he doesn’t know where Syed’s money is coming from but that he plans to cooperate.
A Texas judge issued a preliminary injunction freezing all remaining assets. The News4 I-Team was unable to find an attorney for Syed, and so far she has not faced any criminal charges.
The FBI confirmed to News 4 that they are also investigating Side and SEAM and would like the public’s help. The agency is asking potential victims or those who may know of victims to fill out this form.
Despite all of this, the Meltons say they remain hopeful and plan to continue their surrogacy journey.
“We decided to continue,” Katherine said, fighting back tears and comforted by her husband. “We wanted the decision to stop to be our own, not someone else’s.”
Reported by Tracey Wilkins, produced by Caroline Tucker, filmed and edited by Jeff Piper.
