Convenience Big Store: Expecting parents say a Houston firm took their money, then went dark

June 27, 2024

Good morning, Houston.

Happy Thursday! As temperatures rise in the Houston area, the city has released a list of cooling centers for the community. Stay safe out there, folks.

🌧️ Temperature check: High of 96; low of 80. Justin's insight: The forecast this week prominently features heat and humidity in Houston, but a third "H-word" arrives later this week: haze. Sign up for our weekly Weather Radar newsletter for more coverage.

Yasmeen Khalifa, Audience Engagement Producer

yasmeen.khalifa@houstonchronicle.com

Best of the Bayou

AnnaMaria Gallozzi, 33, and Samuel Larson, 36, dance to Miley Cyrus'

Photo by: Yi-Chin Lee (Staff photographer)

Today we're talking about expecting parents accusing a Houston firm of a surrogacy scam...

If you read one thing: Complaints from surrogates and expecting parents about Houston-based financial firm Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, or SEAM, and its owner were referred to the FBI after the firm stopped responding to clients in mid-June.

How does the financial side of surrogacy work?

Surrogacy typically is not covered by insurance, so intended parents must pay out-of-pocket. It's not uncommon to have to raise $100,000 to cover the cost of hiring an agency, medical bills and payments to the surrogate, plus their expenses. Hopeful parents often take out loans or mortgage their homes.

Most surrogacy agencies recommend hiring an independent party, like SEAM, to ensure the money arrives in full and on time.

What happened with SEAM?

Intended parents and surrogates noticed that surrogates were not receiving their payments at the start June. At first, SEAM and owner Dominique Side explained the company was experiencing a minor bank problem. But, on June 14, the company emailed clients that it had ceased operations.

Side's previously hyperactive social media presence had suddenly disappeared. She stopped responding to messages, leaving parents to wonder if they'd ever see the money they had scrimped, saved and borrowed to have a child.

Read Cayla Harris' full story here.

Stay in the Loop

Photo by: Susan Barber

📰 Need to Know

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Lina Hidalgo was fined $500 for endorsing a DA candidate using public resources. The Harris County judge has been fined $500 for endorsing DA candidate Sean Teare using public resources.
Also, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner praised nerds following Mayor John Whitmire's jab at Hidalgo's fiancé.
U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls responded to criticism for wearing a revoked combat pin. Nehls, a Fort Bend Republican, has suggested the Army revoked his Combat Infantry Badge, or CIB, last year for political reasons.

🚗 Outside the Loop

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Jelly Roll performed for 73K fans at RodeoHouston. Now, he's coming back. He'll perform on Nov. 17 at Toyota Center as part of the Beautifully Broken Tour. Three Texas cities were added to the schedule, including Corpus Christi and Austin.
Richmond will replace its 40-year-old city hall with a former medical building. Richmond will replace its city hall and consolidate city departments now working in separate spaces into what was once a medical building.

⚾ Houston vs. All Y'all

UH's TDECU stadium is expected to undergo a name change in a rebrand. TDECU Stadium is expected to change its name as part of an ongoing rebrand for the Lake Jackson-based financial cooperative, but it will not impact the existing agreement.
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Point of View

On with the show — a show that features for the first time a current and former president on the debate stage together.

Photo by: Yasmeen Khalifa

The Biden-Trump debate will be a show for the ages.

Will Biden have the stamina? Will Trump make sense? Most voters have made up their minds but in a close election, the candidates' performances matter, writes the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board.

Get Out

Spectator reacts when his photo was taken at Eleanor Tinsley Park during Freedom Over Texas, Monday, July 04, 2016, in Houston. (Juan DeLeon/for the Houston Chronicle )

Photo by: Juan DeLeon/For The Chronicle

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Alejandro Escovedo and Victor Wooten are among top Houston live events this week. Erica Rhodes and Johnny Nicholas are also on the recommended list for those looking to get out of the house.

Texans love Buc-ee's. But what they're not loving is its new statue of the beloved beaver. Yep, thats right, Buc-ee got a makeover. The stark change in appearance may be due to the company selecting a different artist to create the new sculpture. Here's what the original statue's artist thinks.

In my opinion, we should leave the beaver be.

— Yasmeen Khalifa