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St. Louis family, victims worldwide win court victory against Texas surrogacy escrow company
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St. Louis family, victims worldwide win court victory against Texas surrogacy escrow company

ST. LOUIS – The path to parenthood for Kwasi and Ashley Oyirifi was not an easy one.

“The first implantation in IVF was successful, but we lost our daughter 18 weeks into the pregnancy. We tried multiple implantations after that and they didn’t work,” said Kwasi Oyirifi.


The physical, emotional and financial toll of failed IVF procedures led the Oyirifis to surrogacy.

“When I met her, we were talking to different people, but I just felt like this was a really good fit and it turned out to be,” said Ashley Oyirifi.

In the surrogacy contract, the Oyirifis agreed to fund an escrow account managed by Surrogacy Escrow Account Management (SEAM) in Houston, Texas. In January, they transferred $65,000 to the account. The surrogate began receiving monthly payments and all was well.

But on June 14, they received this email from SEAM owner Dominique Side, stating: “Due to legal action, I regret to inform you that all activities have been put on hold. At this time, I cannot provide further details on this matter.”

“Then we realized that some surrogates were not getting paid and our funds were not available,” said Ashley Oyirifi.

“We’ve only scratched the surface and we’ve already been able to find quite a few of these transfers and assets,” said Texas attorney Marianne Robak.

Her company filed a lawsuit against SEAM, Dominique Side and her business partner Anthony Hall on June 21.

“Over the last 28 days, my team and I have been working with a forensic accountant to send subpoenas to every bank, every entity that we could trace assets to, to gather that information and present it to the judge,” Robak said.

The updated lawsuit cites bank records that allege Dominique Side used more than $6.2 million of the intended parents’ escrow funds to finance her music studio. According to the petition, Side transferred more than $2.2 million to fund her music career. The complaint says the escrow money also funded Side’s lavish vacations, designer clothes, luxury vehicles and a membership to the exclusive club SoHo House. The Oyirifis have joined other plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

“If we had seen those things before we put our money down, we probably would have chosen something else,” said Ashley Oyirifi.

There is new hope that families like the Oyirifis can eventually make amends. On July 17, a Texas judge granted the plaintiffs a temporary injunction in the case.

“We were able to freeze over a million dollars in real estate, hundreds of dollars in music equipment and inventory. At the end of this case, those assets can be liquidated and converted into funds that can be part of the recovery for many of these families.”

“This is really hard and scary, but it doesn’t overshadow our excitement for our little girl who is on the way,” said Ashley Oyirifi.

Mike Colombo of Contact 2 again attempted to interview SEAM owner Dominique Side and again received an automated email response that stated, in part: “On the advice of my attorney, I am not allowed to respond to questions about the investigation.”

During the July 17 hearing, attorney Marianne Robak questioned Side’s business partner Anthony Hall.

“Mr. Hall testified that Dominique Side told him last spring that she had mismanaged these escrow funds, and shortly thereafter, all of the assets in her entities were transferred into his name,” Robak said.

The FBI is investigating this case. Contact 2 will continue to provide updates as we learn more.