Camas surrogacy closes abruptly

When Camas-based Surro Connections abruptly shut its doors late last year, families and surrogates raised concerns about the largely unregulated surrogacy industry.

Michael Chally, executive director of Northwest Surrogacy Center in Portland, said when he heard about Surro Connections’ closure, it was “heartbreaking.”

His parents founded the Northwest Surrogacy Center 30 years ago. The center works with parents and surrogates in Clark County. Chally has been in the industry for a decade.

He said the surrogacy industry — which helps prospective parents hire a woman to carry a pregnancy to term — is under increased scrutiny. Legislation at the state or federal level could be possible, depending on whether the industry can regulate itself effectively, Chally said.

Over the past two years, he noted, two major agencies in the United States have closed, including Surro Connections, leaving families without their money and surrogates with less financial security.

“There are standards and practices in place already, and I think what’s important as an industry is that we follow those practices,” Chally said.

Washington is generally considered surrogacy-friendly, with laws that support contracts and parental rights while providing some oversight of the process. In 2019, the state enacted the Washington Uniform Parentage Act, which allowed for compensated surrogacy and established a legal parentage process.

Chally said reputable surrogacy agencies should be able to provide their accounting and legal practices. Agencies should have insurance that covers all the money a family is intending to hold.

The New York Times reported Surro Connections most likely held millions of dollars of client funds but had only $100,000 in insurance coverage.

“The insurance policy should not only cover employee theft and any third-party theft like phishing and cyber crimes but also the owners, so that if the owner is being fraudulent, they’re covered as well,” Chally said. “Ultimately, any outside escrow agency or agency that’s holding money internally should be able to supply things like their insurance to anyone who requests it. I think that it’s also perfectly appropriate to ask for someone to explain how their accounting practices work and how people protect the money. Anyone who is uncomfortable talking about these things with a potential family or surrogate, I think that that’s a red flag.”

He also noted families and surrogates should look for robust security procedures, such as dual authentication, and make sure agencies have consistent training on scams and other forms of attacks.

No one person should be in charge of transactions, Chally added.

Typically, in surrogacy, payments are routed through an escrow account, where the intended parents place the money in advance to be held by a neutral third party or the agency. The surrogate is then paid from that account as required by their contract, without having to ask the parents directly.

Stephannie Sloane, of Gresham, Ore., worked at Surro Connections for over a decade. The agency had about 20 employees who helped families across the country and abroad, she said.

Sloane thought payment requests from escrow were made by office managers, she said, but she learned later that President Megan Hall-Greenberg was solely responsible for approving payments.

Sloane said prior to closing, Hall-Greenberg was “engaged” and seemed “very caring.”

“If a problem was brought to her, she would give her input, her feedback and seemed to want to be part of the solution,” Sloane said.

Payment problems

In November, a month before the agency closed, Sloane and some of her colleagues began to notice some of the surrogates were not receiving money held for them in escrow.

Sloane said surrogates were paid by the end of the month, but the same issue resurfaced in December. This time, surrogate coordinators tried to get in contact with Hall-Greenberg directly, with no response.

By Dec. 5, after days of silence, Sloane and her colleagues received an email from Hall-Greenberg with the subject “Important update regarding company operations.”

“I am writing to inform you that Surro Connections has undergone significant financial challenges that requires the business to close,” the email stated. “This is to notify you that your employment with Surro Connections is terminated effective immediately.”

The email signed with Hall-Greenberg’s name also said if the employees received inquiries from clients and surrogates, they should “refrain from making statements on behalf of the company.”

“It was kind of a disaster,” Sloane said. “I think part of me hoped it was a mistake. Part of me hoped she was going to come out of hiding and be like, ‘Just kidding.’ I just kept hoping that something good would come on the other side, and that wasn’t happening.”

Over the next few days, Sloane and her colleagues had to tell intended parents and surrogates that the agency had closed and the money’s whereabouts were unknown.

Financial woes

The closure raised questions about Hall-Greenberg’s record of legal and financial issues. In 2024, she was sued by American Express National Bank for unpaid credit card debt in the amount of $36,456 in Clark County Superior Court.

In 2025, she was sued again by American Express National Bank for unpaid credit card debt for two accounts in her name totaling $70,475, court records show.

Sloane said the FBI has contacted her, allegedly investigating Surro Connections and Hall-Greenberg. She added that the agency told her it could be a while before any official documents are released. The Columbian tried to confirm details of a federal investigation through a Freedom of Information Act request for public records but was unable to obtain any documents.

Efforts to contact Hall-Greenberg for this story were unsuccessful.