Parents can easily spend north of $150,000 to have a child through a surrogate, and many turn to specialty escrow companies who handle the money: vouching that expenses sync with the terms of the contract and doling out the parents' payments to the surrogate so long as they do. Except as Ben Foldy writes for the Wall Street Journal, these companies operate in a regulatory void, with no federal laws on the books regarding the financial (and other) components of surrogate pregnancies. That's allowed fraudsters to walk away with clients' money more than once.
Foldy zeroes in on Surrogacy Escrow Account Management, or SEAM, one of a number of companies managing surrogacy funds. But instead of paying bills, SEAM's owner allegedly used up to $16 million in client money to bankroll a luxury vegan clothing brand and a rap career, per a civil lawsuit. Hundreds of families and surrogates—some mid-pregnancy—were left high and dry: "Already-pregnant surrogates must carry through with labor that they know they may not be paid for, while potentially being on the hook for medical bills they may not be able to afford," writes Foldy. "Parents face the prospect of messy litigation from unpaid surrogates."
Foldy relates three more horror stories involving owners and employees of other companies who used client money for a yoga studio, to purchase bitcoin, and to cover online gambling debts; all ended up being sentenced to years in prison. When the money vanishes, parents and surrogates often have nowhere to turn. Federal authorities are now investigating SEAM, and some families have filed lawsuits, but the odds of recovering lost money are slim. (Read the full story for much more, including stories of would-be parents who saw their funds disappear.)
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uBlock 
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