Sacramento County couple allege fraud by surrogacy escrow company, feds investigating
FAIR OAKS -- By the numbers, a Sacramento-area couple has been on a parenthood journey that's included 23 retrievals, eight embryos, and five screenings—all before a surrogate pregnancy.
It's taken Katelyn and Christopher Kettmann more than the process on paper to get to this point—their surrogate is 21 weeks pregnant with a baby boy.
It's what they have been waiting for: celebrating the birth of their son and expanding their family. They say infertility can be a "lonely feeling," so they've shared their journey throughout to build community and support.
"We had just hit that point of like, OK, things are going good. We're getting good signs from all of our doctor's appointments, our surrogates are feeling great. She had finally hit the second trimester. Like, things were starting to feel positive and I was like, 'OK, I can start to hope,' " Katelyn said.
As excitement went up, issues from the couple's surrogacy escrow company began to grow.
The Houston-based Surrogacy Escrow Account Management (SEAM) was used by the Kettmann's during their parenthood journey. They gave the company a lump sum, agreed upon in a contract, and a third-party company would pay the expenses of the surrogate from medical bills to maternity clothes—all things related to the pregnancy.
The Kettmanns began payments to the company for the surrogacy in November 2023, they said, totaling $57,000 plus the company's $1,250 fee.
"I can start to feel excited that I'm going to be a mom. We're going to have a baby, and I can start to get excited and tell people and plan for a future," Katelyn said. "Could this take away my baby, you know? Could this take away the hope and some of this? It just felt like such a drop in that excitement that had finally come."
The Kettmanns' surrogate was due to be paid on June 1, 2024. Three days later, on June 4, the surrogate, who lives in the Sacramento area, received an email that there was a "delay in processing payments."
"It basically just said, 'You know, we're having some issues with our bank. Give us a few days, and your payments will come.' And we trusted that. We thought, 'Oh, no big deal. Couple of days late. It happens.' Our surrogate was super cool about it. She said, 'No problem, just want to let you guys know this is going on.' "
A week later, the situation took a turn. That's when the couple received another email that SEAM changed bank accounts. They were told the payments were coming, but this is a contributing factor to the payment delays. They were told, along with other families, that payments would start going out within 48 hours.
Within a few days of that notice came the "bombshell email," as Christopher described it. Sent from SEAM's owner, Dominique Side, it notified the Kettmanns that there was an investigation but there was no wrongdoing.
"Up until that point, we didn't even think there's anything weird going on. We just thought there was some administration problem that they needed to figure out with the bank, and that was it until that bombshell email that morning," Christopher said.
SEAM had stopped operations and Side's social media accounts had been wiped. CBS13 reached out to Side and the company for comment, but received an automated email:
"My sincerest apologies for the non-responsiveness.
My company and I have been noticed that we are subject to an active investigation by federal authorities.
Under advice of counsel, I am not permitted to respond to any inquiries regarding the investigation.
Please be kindly advised that the investigation involves only me, as an individual, and SEAM, as a single-member entity.
Regards,
Dominique"
With two small reimbursements, the Kettmanns have $45,000 that vanished and they don't have answers to where it is or if they'll be reimbursed.
Meanwhile, the FBI has established a "Seeking Information" website for anyone who believes they are a victim.
CBS13 contacted the Houston FBI Office for more information about the investigation, and a spokesperson said the seeking information page speaks for itself.
Court documents filed in Harris County, Texas on June 21 name Side and SEAM. A Texas judge froze the accounts on June 24, only two weeks after the Kettmanns learned their money was inaccessible.
In documents that are part of a temporary restraining order naming Side and SEAM, prosecutors allege that evidence shows SEAM's escrow account with Capital One has no funds available and that the funds had been transferred to another account. The documents say, in part:
"Dominique has erased her social media accounts. Dominique has also taken measures to conceal the business activities of her other entities. Some of her business websites have been deleted. Dominique's actions appear to be to avoid having to face the clients she defrauded. It appears she has absconded."
"We thought we really did think with we were through kind of the hardest and the most, you know, troubling time with this. To be hit with this was really disappointing just because it was something that was not even on our radar that could happen right. There's so many things that could go wrong. This was the last thing we thought would go wrong," Christopher said.
There are hundreds of people across the country who have poured thousands of dollars into their escrow accounts.
"I know of at least 200 other parents whose money is missing," said Lori Hood, a Houston attorney representing another couple who used SEAM's services.
It's not clear how much money has vanished, but the Kettmann's believe it's in the millions.
"That's really been heartbreaking, there's so many people who now can't have babies because they just put money into this fund. They haven't been able to have that transfer yet, and now they can't. So now they can't have babies. She took that from them that opportunity. And to me, honestly, that's the most heartbreaking thing like that just makes me want to cry," Katelyn said.
Moving forward, families will have to find ways to pay their surrogates while the case works its way through the federal investigation and the courts.
The Kettmanns started a fundraiser for their own family to ensure they can pay the surrogate carrying their son.