NYC couple among families across country that claim surrogacy escrow company took millions
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It took Laura Daniels and her husband Chris Cheng years to bring their newborn son Koda into the world.
"He's just the most wonderful baby," said Daniels from her New York City apartment. "It's incredible watching him grow every day."
Due to medical reasons, the couple had to search for a gestational carrier, or surrogate, to carry him.
"It's amazing," said Jenn Fox, the gestational carrier the family has grown close to over the past two years. "I still look at his pictures when they send them to me and I'm like, he was inside of me, I did that, it's crazy."
But just days after Koda was born, their joy turned into worry and anxiety.
"I was just sick to my stomach, its just been so awful," said Daniels.
That's when Fox noticed a problem.
"The money was there, I just wasn't getting it," said Fox.
Daniels and Cheng used a popular escrow account company called Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, or SEAM, based out of Texas to pay the surrogate's expenses. It's what most families do in a similar situation to help prevent financial payment issues.
"It was very highly recommended in the community," said Daniels.
But days after giving birth, Fox didn't receive her final payments even though Daniels had deposited the funds in the escrow account.
"I have a family to feed and bills to pay so I was getting a little concerned when my lost wages were not coming through," said Fox.
They're not alone. As part of an ABC News nationwide investigation, we found family after family from coast to coast in a similar situation.
The owner of SEAM, Dominique Side, first sent an email to customers saying the account "experienced fraudulent charges" prompting the bank to freeze accounts. Then, two days later, she sent another email stating "Due to legal action, I regret to inform you that all operations have been placed on hold."
"We lost $10,600," said Daniels. "It's sort of double the hit because we had to come up with that same amount a second time."
The FBI is now looking for victims to come forward.
An attorney representing more than two dozen families filed a lawsuit claiming Dominique Side "lured families and their surrogates" to "steal their escrow funds" and "misappropriated millions" for "their own personal use."
The attorney claims Side transferred millions of dollars to bankroll her music career and lavish lifestyle.
"To date, our investigation has been able to point to $10.9 million that have been removed from the escrow accounts without the authorization of the intended parents," said Marianna Robak.
Dominique Side has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
An automated message and email states: "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. Under advice of counsel, I am not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation."
"It should've never happened," said Fox. "It should've never been able to happen and it should never be able to happen again."
Despite what happened, Jenn Fox says she has grown incredibly close with the Daniels-Cheng family and would do it all over again.
Moving forward, families say more needs to be done to prevent a similar situation from happening again.
"I think we need to see the government step in and put protections in place for all parties because right now there just isn't the kind of regulation that we need to keep every safe," said Daniels.
A judge ordered the assets of the escrow owner to be frozen.
RELATED | From hope to heartbreak: Families allege surrogacy escrow company stole millions
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