HOUSTON – A Harris County judge has ordered Dominique Side, the former owner of Houston-based Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, or SEAM, and the company to pay families more than $1 million after its sudden collapse last year.
The partial judgement was signed last week by Judge Donna Roth, awarding the families all over the world $1,045,158.24.
Dominique Side & Surrogacy Escrow Account Management have been ordered to pay families around the world $1M+ after SEAM suddenly collapsed last year. She’s accused of misappropriating more than $16M to fund her rap music career & a lavish lifestyle. https://t.co/fHK8AkyOXQ
— KPRC 2 Bryce Newberry (@KPRC2Bryce) July 22, 2025
Side’s company shut down last summer and money that had been deposited by intended parents, meant to pay their surrogates, suddenly vanished.
The FBI opened an investigation, which at last check, is ongoing. KPRC 2 asked the FBI for an update on Tuesday.
The civil lawsuit against Side, her business partner, and their music production company, claims that more than $16 million in escrow funds appear to have vanished, and millions of dollars were used to “bankroll her music career as ‘Dom,’ a racy rap and R&B singer and music producer.”
The money also reportedly went to lavish trips around the world, designer clothing, and luxury vehicles.
KPRC 2 spoke with several families after the company’s collapse, who said it left them scrambling to figure out how to pay their surrogates and others said it ended their dreams of ever becoming parents.
Side and her business partner, Anthony Hall, were accused of using the money to open a music studio in the Spring Branch area.
In June of 2024, families received an email from SEAM that indicated payments to surrogates had been delayed due to “significant issues with our bank.”
But within weeks, the accounts were shut down and families started receiving auto-responses that indicated a federal investigation was underway and “Under the advice of counsel, (Side was) not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation.”
Side has not responded to any of KPRC 2’s requests for comment.
While the judgement has been signed, it remains unclear when the intended parents who filed suit will receive payment. There’s currently an injunction, which has frozen assets connected to Side and SEAM, which is expected to be used to pay the families back.
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