Houston-based entrepreneur Dominique Side is accused of stealing millions from her surrogacy escrow company to fund her rap career.
An amended lawsuit filed in Harris County alleges Dominique, 44, misappropriated millions to fund her lavish lifestyle and rap career.
A lawsuit alleges Dominique used her surrogacy escrow company, Surrogacy Escrow Account Management LLC or SEAM, to steal from couples who paid her to forward money to surrogates.
SEAM abruptly shut down in mid-June, KPRC 2 reported. Dozens of would-be parents are left without access to their money.
Surrogates who are carrying babies for childless women have also gone unpaid.
KPRC 2 spoke with alleged victims from across the country and as far away as France and Italy. 23 couples say their surrogates have stopped getting paid.
One couple who deposited $60,000 with Dominique’s surrogacy escrow company said their pregnant surrogate had trouble withdrawing funds from their account.
SEAM is accused of misappropriating intended parents’ funds for years… to “wrongfully enrich Dominique and her business partners.”
“With every layer we peel back in this case, we discover more wickedness and greed,” said Shackelford Law Firm partner Marianne Robak. “All I can think about is how some of these defendants can sleep at night knowing they have taken millions of dollars from innocent people and, in some cases, ruined their victims’ chances at having a family of their own. It makes me sick.”
More than $2.2 million of the intended parents’ funds were used to “bankroll her music career as ‘Dom,’ a racy rap and R&B singer and music producer,” the lawsuit states.
In her bio on her now-deleted Instagram page, Dominique, 44, described herself as a “Vegan lifestyle expert, recording artist, and serial entrepreneur.”
Dominique deleted all of her social media accounts except for one: @luxuryvegan.
Her bio states Luxury Vegan is for the world changers who are determined to live a more compassionate lifestyle, including veganism, sustainability, and luxurious living.