ATLANTA, Ga. — For more than a month, Channel 2 Action News has been reporting on a business owner accused of stealing millions of dollars from families who entrusted her with money to grow their families.
Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray has been following the case every step of the way.
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The money was intended to pay for surrogates. In fact, the entire point of the business, called SEAM, was to keep money families were setting aside to pay surrogates safe and secure.
ABC News will have more on the investigation, tonight on Nightline on Channel 2
Now, millions of dollars are missing.
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ABC News reported Wednesday morning on Good Morning America that the FBI is now investigating as well.
Jenna and Roy Copeland, who live in Smyrna, always dreamed of having a baby.
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Channel 2 Investigates first talked to the Copelands more than a month ago as they were preparing for a gender reveal party.
More than $40,000 in the Escrow account to pay the surrogate carrying their child is now unavailable and unaccounted for.
In another story earlier this month, Gray told you about a lawsuit alleging the owner of the Escrow company, Dominique Side, stole money from hundreds of families who, like the Coplands, entrusted money with SEAM to pay their surrogates.
“We were flabbergasted. Just the extent of recklessness,” Roy Copeland said.
According to the lawsuit, Side allegedly transferred Escrow funds to several side ventures, including a vegan clothesline, real estate investments, luxury vehicles, expensive trips and a recording studio. She allegedly used the more than $2.2 million for her clients to bankroll her own music career as a rap and R&B artist under the name “Dom.”
ABC News spoke to the attorney in the case, Marianne Robak, on Wednesday morning.
“To date, our investigation has been able to point to about $10.9 million that have been removed from the escrow accounts,” Roback said.
When Gray tried to call and email Dominique Side, a message plays that she is now under investigation by federal authorities and told by her attorney not to respond to any questions.
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