PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) -- A man who had operated a hearing aid business in Rapid City since 2013 and then vanished from his customers this year is losing his South Dakota license.

The state Board of Licensed Hearing Aid Dispensers and Audiologists issued the revocation action on Thursday against Eric Bristol Smith.

The board had received formal complaints from six customers of Smith's business, Bristol's Hearing Solutions.

Five of those customers said they had paid thousands of dollars to Smith in recent months for hearing aids, or had taken the devices in for service. They said the devices were never delivered or returned, nor were their payments refunded.

Those outstanding amounts total at least $22,616.

A sixth customer who had charged $2,025 to his credit card for a replacement said

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