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Court hearing in surrogacy firm scandal
Hundreds of families are looking for answers from a Houston woman who owns a surrogacy escrow account company after millions of dollars have gone missing with the owner nowhere to be found. FOX 26's Jonathan Mejia has been following the story since the beginning and has an update after a court hearing.
HOUSTON - It was the day hundreds of intended parents and families who put thousands of dollars into an escrow account to pay for a surrogate to help start a family were waiting for: Dominique Side's day in court. Except, Side did not show up to court.
In Wednesday's court proceeding, Anthony Hall appeared without legal representation, claiming his funds had been frozen but stating his intention to defend himself. Hall has been connected with legal issues involving the escrow account company, SEAM, which is owned by Side, for which he was hired to create services, including web development and media production.
Harris County Judge Jeralynn Manor granted a temporary injunction relief to freeze Dominique Side’s bank accounts and assets. Hall’s business assets are all frozen and he is only allowed to access his personal bank account in exchange for giving up the business assets and $1 million in real estate as part of the injunction.
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"Don’t give up hope. Where money is spent it’s spent on something, whether it be property, assets, whether it is an investment. Those funds can be traced and will be traced and once they are traced, they will be put into a constructive trust for the creditors and it can be converted back into a recovery for them," said Marianne Robak, the attorney representing families
Hall told FOX 26 he was very satisfied with the outcome and would provide a statement at a later date.
Hall, who emphasized his role as a non-insider at SEAM, said he was paid for creating a website, logo, and commercial, and has maintained his primary source of income through his work for clients at his music studio company 2160 Records and 7800 Amelia Studios, formerly known as Vgn Bae Studios, despite the financial entanglement with SEAM.
According to Hall, his association with Dominique Side, who presented herself as an investor, initially involved building a website for Side's venture, SEAM, between 2021 and 2022. Hall brought in his own equipment, stating he's been involved in music and media since 2016. Despite years of work, he claimed to have received no compensation from SEAM except payments for specific contracts and invoices. He indicated that all of his financial dealings were with Side, who acted as the CFO of SEAM.
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Troubles escalated for Hall following intellectual property issues and harassment, leading to a significant loss of business and clients. He also mentioned a notarized letter from Side asserting that Hall had no ownership or insight into SEAM's finances, nor had any money been transferred to him.
Hall attested to changing the name of his studio on social media platforms to distance himself from the legal issues surrounding SEAM. The disruptions to his personal and professional life became apparent when he was served legal papers and found himself stuck without transportation due to frozen funds.
During his defense, Hall recounted his interactions with Side prior to the hearing, mentioning that they last spoke two days ago yet did not discuss the lawsuit. His conversation with Side alluded to her being interviewed by the FBI.
The defense's opening statement involved allegations that SEAM's business had been transferred to Hall and that there had been an improper transfer of funds amounting to $4.9M to Vgn Bae Studios from SEAM. The claim is that these payments were fraudulent.
Jeffrey Allen Davidson, a partner with Capstone Forensic Group, was a participant in the proceedings, to testify about SEAM's financial status. Although the full scope and outcome of the legal proceedings remain to be seen, there was a clear narrative of financial mismanagement and the subsequent legal ramifications for the parties involved.
The FBI is looking to identify potential victims of SEAM or people who have information relevant to the investigation to complete this form. The FBI told FOX 26 they cannot give details since it's an ongoing investigation but has created a dedicated website to receive information relevant to Side and SEAM.