A Texas surrogacy company is accused of stealing millions of dollars from prospective parents to fund its owner’s lavish lifestyle and music career.
Dominic Syed, owner of a Houston surrogacy escrow business, misappropriated an estimated $16 million on designer clothes, luxury cars, lavish international trips, homes in Houston and New Orleans and memberships to exclusive celebrity clubs, according to a lawsuit filed this month in Harris County. Syed also used the money to “fund his music career” as “Dom,” a rap and R&B singer and music producer, the complaint alleges.
Court papers describe how prospective parents were left in disarray when the company suddenly shut down without explanation in June. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of about 30 people, according to court documents.
The FBI is investigating a company called Surrogacy Escrow Account Management and is asking customers to contact them. It’s unclear how many people have been victimized, but Houston-area news outlets have reported it could be in the hundreds. A Facebook group called “SEAM Breach” has grown to nearly 800 members, according to the complaint.
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Because surrogacy can cost tens of thousands of dollars, surrogacy agencies typically recommend parents hire a third-party escrow company to act as an intermediary, paying the surrogate and holding the payment.
As reported by the Houston Chronicle, SEAM had been operating as an escrow for nearly a decade without incident. But in early June, customers noticed that payments hadn’t been made. After a series of emails reassuring customers that the glitch was due to technical issues with the bank, Syed issued a short announcement on June 14 saying that SEAM had ceased all operations “due to legal action” and had disappeared.
In June, a Harris County judge ordered the freezing of SEAM’s assets.
Neither owner Syed nor company representatives responded to calls or emails seeking comment Thursday. An email from The Dallas Morning News to the company triggered an automated reply. Syed said there is a “federal investigation underway” and said in an email that he had been instructed by his lawyer not to respond to inquiries about the investigation.
“We sincerely apologize for the lack of response,” the email said.
Court documents do not yet name an attorney for Syed, and social media accounts filled with photos of Syed’s recent travels and appearances have been deleted since the company was shut down.
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SEAM’s sudden closure has left prospective parents and surrogates alike struggling to navigate extremely difficult circumstances. Surrogates who are carrying children that are not their own are having to figure out how to pay for prenatal care, according to the lawsuit. Some prospective parents have started GoFundMe campaigns to help cover the costs.
Last month, Kris and Caitlin Kettman, whose surrogate was 22 weeks pregnant, told the Chronicle that they had very little financially. “This has taken everything we had and everything our friends and family gave us,” Kris said. “We have no idea where the money is going to come from.”
Court documents detail how Syed spent the money. According to the lawsuit, he used $2.2 million of the escrow funds to fund his career as a singer and producer, including music videos, luxury trips, designer clothes and luxury cars. He also used the money to pay for memberships to Soho House, a self-described “club for creatives” with locations around the world.
The escrow funds also went toward real estate investments, including a five-acre parcel of land and a $433,000 house in Houston and a $300,000 custom home in New Orleans, according to the documents.
Another $6.2 million of his parents’ money went to fund a vegan music production company called Vgn Bae Studios, which he co-founded with Houston-area musician Anthony Hall.
Hall, who could not be reached for comment, told the Los Angeles Times in June that he was Syed’s business partner at the music studio but not at the surrogacy company.
“I would like to know the answers,” Hall told the Times. “Everything was fine, and then it wasn’t.”
In a 2022 interview with Voyage Houston, Syed said he runs a vegan supermarket in Houston and is launching a high-end vegan fashion brand.
“My dreams have evolved with each new venture, but there’s one common theme to all of my businesses,” she told the magazine. “Each one is firmly built on a foundation of compassion for others, for myself, and for the planet.”
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