Former medical salon owner charged with 54 felonies, including fraud and theft

LOGAN, Utah (ABC4) — A former medical salon owner has been charged with 54 felonies after allegedly borrowing thousands of dollars and failing to repay lenders, according to court documents.

Megan Hayes, 29, is facing 54 felonies, including communications fraud, theft, pattern of unlawful activity, securities fraud, and issuing a bad check.

Court documents state that in September 2023, law enforcement was contacted by Cache Valley Ear, Nose & Throat to report potential crimes committed by a former employee, later identified as Hayes. The Defendant had worked for CVENT as a nurse at Ascent Aesthetics.

Upon investigation, law enforcement reported that on multiple occasions, Hayes allegedly promoted fundraisers for CAPSA Healthcare and the Cache Food Pantry on social media. Hayes provided her Venmo for people to send donations. Court documents state that CAPSA had no record of any donation from Hayes or Ascent Aesthetics. Additionally, Hayes’s bank records, which were obtained by law enforcement, showed no records of donations. 

The affidavit of probable cause states that Hayes had received around $2,500 in Venmo donations over the years.

Additionally, law enforcement uncovered multiple instances where Hayes purchased equipment on credit and took out loans. Court documents allege that the lenders were never repaid or only partially repaid. The charges totaled more than $800,000.

Selling Ascent Aesthetics

On Aug. 12, 2023, during the course of law enforcement’s investigation, court documents report that Hayes sent a text message regarding the state of Ascent Aesthetics and her plans to sell the business saying, “I could not keep up with the growth and got so upside down, and lied repeatedly to try to cover it all up and buy time.”

Court documents state that over the course of the of the investigation from 2022 through the present, Hayes has been active on social media posting photos of herself and her husband at various sporting events, concerts, high end restaurants, and luxury stores. Financial records show that in 2022, Ascent spent over $60,000 on travel expenses.

Hayes is not currently in police custody but scheduled to appear again before a judge Dec. 8.