LOGAN — A former medical salon owner is serving a one-month term in the Cache County Jail for borrowing thousands of dollars but then failing to repay lenders. Megan Hayes, 29, also organized several charity drives for local foundations but then kept the money for her North Logan company, Ascent Aesthetics, which is now permanently closed.
According to court records, Hayes was sentenced May 1 in Logan’s 1st District Court. She previously pleaded guilty to a pattern of unlawful activity, communications fraud, securities fraud, and issuing bad checks, all second-degree felonies.
According to prosecutors, Cache County Sheriff’s deputies were contacted in September 2023. The complainant described multiple instances of fraud and theft at the salon, purchased by Hayes and her husband, Skyler Hayes, in April 2022.
Deputies uncovered multiple instances where Hayes purchased equipment on credit and took out loans, totaling around $890,770. In most cases, the lenders were never repaid or only received partial payments after repeated attempts to collect.
Evidence showed Hayes used salon equipment as collateral for some of the loans, even though the equipment was owned by a bank. In other instances, she blamed her inability to make creditor payments on banking errors or her husband suffering a medical emergency.
Deputies noted that during the time Hayes was failing to repay creditors, she was posting photos on social media of her and Skyler at numerous sporting events, concerts, expensive restaurants and luxury stores. Financial records subpoenaed from the company showed in 2022 and 2023, the salon spent $111,296 on travel, $76,607 on airfare and $19,396 on hotels.
Hayes also advertised several holiday fundraisers on social media in 2021 and 2022. She asked people to send her donations for CAPSA and The Cache Community Food Pantry in exchange for discounts on skin treatments. Bank statements showed she collected around $2,500 but never gave the money to the charities.
On Aug. 12, 2023, Hayes sent a text message to employees, telling them she planned to sell the business. The message stated, “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.”
During sentencing, Judge Angela Fonnesbeck ordered Hayes to serve three prison terms of one to 15 years. However, she suspended the prison time and ordered the defendant to serve 30 days in jail, followed by 36 months’ probation.
Hayes was also ordered to pay $270,327 in restitution, register with the Utah White Collar Crime Offender Registry, and is prohibited from being employed in any fiduciary position or be in control of any assets.