BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A Bellingham couple say they were scammed for thousands of dollars by a Texas-based business that is now at the center of a lawsuit.
Arielle Mitton and her husband believed they had found a surrogate to carry their baby and took out a $50,000 loan for expenses. She wanted a fourth child to "complete" her family after finding out she was infertile.
Then, on June 14, Arielle got a cryptic email from Surrogacy Escrow Account Management stating "all operations have been placed on hold."
"I feel like the pain for me was very deep," she said.
A lawsuit filed against Dominique Side in Harris County, Texas claims she "stole escrow funds" from at least "600 families" to the tune of "$10 million," leaving them with "no way to pay" for surrogacies. The alleged victims stretch from Bellingham to China.
"I call it premeditated evil," said Arielle. "There's no way this was by accident."
KING 5 News tried contacting Dominique Side, the owner of Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, but has not heard back.
KING 5 sent an email to the business and received an automated reply stating:
"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."
For now, Arielle holds her current children a bit closer, wondering where her money and Dominique Side are.
"I would ask her how she can sleep at night knowing she's done this to so many people. I would also ask her to do the right thing. Sell all her assets and return the money to us as soon as she can," said Arielle.
The FBI is now investigating and asking potential victims to come forward. Agents believe there are likely more victims.