New injunction granted in Houston surrogacy escrow theft case
HOUSTON - A judge granted another temporary injunction in the civil lawsuit against a Houston-based surrogacy escrow company, SEAM.
Both parties agreed to the terms of the injunction and two hours of testimony was heard from Anthony Hall, a defendant named in the case.
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He testified that he wants to see the families affected receive compensation, but advocated for himself to have access to his assets.
"I'm not trying to hold anything from anybody, I'm just trying to live and work and eat too," he said.
Hall was asked extensively about the claims made in a FaceBook Post made by another defendant, Helen Yancy.
The post, which was admitted into the case as an exhibit, accuses Hall of deceiving Yancy and showcases a slew of texts that Yancy claims are between her and Hall.
"The fact that she turned on Hall didn't surprise me, it was the way she turned on him. By making it so public on Facebook - sharing receipts, sharing text messages, showing almost step-by-step how they perpetrated the fraud, that did catch me off guard," said Marianne Robak, the attorney representing families.
With his wife in the courtroom, Hall testified that he had an affair with Yancy, agreeing that she's now acting as a ‘scorned lover.’
"Reading what Ms. Yancy said and hearing Robak call her my lover in front of my wife is my consequence," he said.
Hall was also asked extensively about a land transfer between him and Yancy that happened the day the last injunction in the case was filed.
The transfer was for a piece of $575,000 land. Records show that it was transferred from Side to Hall in June, then from Hall to Yancy in July - violating the injunction.
Hall testified that he did not sign the transfer and that his signature was forged, even playing a phone recording he claimed was Yancy admitting to forging he and Side's signatures.
In response to the transfer, Robak has filed to hold Side, Hall, and Yancy in contempt of court, which she says will likely be the next hearing held.