Frisco couple sues Houston surrogacy company they say stole thousands

FRISCO, Texas - Dozens of families nationwide say the owner of a Houston company that held funds for surrogate pregnancies took their money and spent it on other businesses and personal expenses.

Jessica and Richard Climer of Frisco are among those suing the company.

From the beginning of their 13 years of marriage, the Climers have wanted a child. 

In that time, they had five miscarriages.

In 2021, hemorrhaging related to the fifth miscarriage nearly took Jessica's life.

"I came pretty close to not being here," Jessica said.

Last year, they turned to surrogacy.

"There's a lot of preparation," said Richard.

The Climers placed tens of thousands of dollars with Houston-based Surrogacy Escrow Account Management (SEAM) to facilitate payments to their surrogate.

They found a new surrogate in May and the first few payments went through. Then, they stopped.

"Whenever our gestational carrier or surrogate didn’t get paid, then we realized that something worse had happened," said Richard.

The owner of SEAM, Dominique Side, is seemingly missing and so is the $45,000 balance in the Climers' account.

"She knows what type of people she took the money from," said Jessica.

The last correspondence the Climers say they had with SEAM was an email from Dominique Side saying she's under federal investigation.

Hundreds of people worldwide have similar claims and dozens are involved in a lawsuit claiming Side used their money to fund other businesses.

A judge's order last month froze the funds and assets belonging to victims.

It's alleged Dominique Side opened a new escrow company and may have been transferring her clients' money there.

In June, the FBI released a statement asking victims to come forward.

"She messed with a bunch of people that just didn’t deserve this. I mean, we’re hard-working people," said Richard.

The Climers are now scrambling to find money to pay their surrogate before the frozen embryo transfer.

"As far as the process being halted, I mean, if we don’t come up with the money that was taken us from us, yes, it absolutely will be halted," said Richard. "It weighs heavy on you. Very much so."

The Climers have filed reports with the FBI and Houston Police Department.

The FBI is looking for any more potential victims.