Based on statistical data, a couple from the Sacramento region had five screenings, eight embryos, and 23 retrievals in their quest to become parents before becoming pregnant through surrogacy.
Katelyn and Christopher Kettmann’s surrogate is 21 weeks pregnant with a boy; it has taken more than the paperwork to bring them to this stage.
They are finally celebrating the birth of their kid and growing their family—it’s what they have been waiting for. Since they believe that being infertile might be a “lonely feeling,” they have kept their journey public in order to foster a supportive network.
“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 stated.
Concerns from the couple’s surrogacy escrow business escalated as the excitement grew.
During their road to parenthood, the Kettmann family employed the Surrogacy Escrow Account Management (SEAM) system located in Houston. They agreed in a contract to provide the corporation a lump amount, and a third party would cover all of the surrogate’s pregnancy-related costs, including medical bills and maternity apparel.
According to them, the Kettmanns paid the corporation $57,000 for the surrogacy in November 2023, in addition to the $1,250 fee charged by the business.
“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 stated. “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.”
On June 1, 2024, the surrogate for the Kettmanns was scheduled to be paid. The Sacramento-area surrogate got an email three days later, on June 4, informing her that there had been a “delay in processing payments.”
Then, one week later, things changed. At that point, the couple got a second email informing them that SEAM had switched banks.
Although this is a contributing factor to the payment delays, they were informed that the money would be forthcoming. They were informed, like with other families, that within 48 hours, compensation will begin to be made.
The “bombshell email,” as Christopher put it, arrived a few days after that warning. It informed the Kettmanns that there was an investigation but no wrongdoing and was sent from Dominique Side, the owner of SEAM.
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The Kettmanns have $45,000 that disappeared after two minor reimbursements, and they don’t know where it is or whether they will be paid back.
Meanwhile, anyone who thinks they may be a victim can visit the FBI’s “Seeking Information” website.
Side and SEAM are named in court documents filed in Harris County, Texas on June 21. On June 24, a Texas judge frozen the accounts, a mere two weeks after the Kettmanns were informed that their money was unavailable. Thousands of dollars have been deposited into escrow accounts by hundreds of people across.
Another couple that benefited from SEAM’s services was represented by Houston lawyer Lori Hood, who stated, “I know of at least 200 other parents whose money is missing.”
Although the exact amount of money lost is unknown, the Kettmanns estimate it to be in the millions. Families will now need to figure out how to compensate their surrogates while the case is handled by the courts and the FBI probe.
To be sure they could pay the surrogate mother carrying their son, the Kettmann family launched a fundraising campaign.
