State regulators say a former massage therapist who lost his license in 2018 over accusations of inappropriate touching is continuing to work in violation of state law.
The Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy voted on Monday to send a cease-and-desist letter to former therapist Steven D. Hall after the board received two complaints that he was continuing to work without a license. The letter will also be given to local law enforcement to follow up on.
Board records show Hall has been disciplined twice by the state board that regulates Arizona massage therapists. He was suspended for 90 days in 2013 and ordered to take 12 hours of continuing education after a client accused him of improperly touching her.
A few years later, in 2017, he was accused of inappropriately touching another client. The board revoked his license after the second allegation.
Hall did not attend the board meeting and did not respond to a voicemail and email from ABC15 on Monday.
Massage Board Investigator David Elson said he received a complaint from a client of Hall’s in February, whom he identified only as K.W. to protect her privacy. He said she had two massages from Hall in early February, and she referred him to another client. She later discovered by doing a web search on Hall’s name that he had a revoked license.
K.W. told the board during Monday’s meeting that she had a text-message exchange with Hall where he confirmed his license had been revoked and asked her not to report him.
She told the board she shared information about the license revocation with the client she had referred to Hall. Both women filed complaints against Hall with state regulators.
Neither alleged any inappropriate touching.
Massage Board Investigator David Elson said Hall was working for himself at the time of the complaints and was not at a spa.
Elson told ABC15 his office receives about six to eight such complaints a year where massage therapists continue to work after their licenses are revoked.
In December, the board voted to send a cease-and-desist letter to James Sailer after the board said he was accepting bookings for massages several months after his massage therapist license had been revoked. Sailer previously worked in Marana.
Elson said after he received a report that Sailer was still accepting appointments, Elson went online through a massage booking website and was able to book an appointment with Sailer using a fictitious name.
Sailer told the board at a December meeting he was no longer working as a massage therapist and hadn’t since his license was revoked in February 2022.
“I’m 68 years old, retired, and drawing Social Security,” he said, adding that he now works on the side for a ride-share company.
You can check whether a massage therapist is licensed by entering the person’s name into Arizona’s Massage Therapist Search Tool.
