Clients of Biothera Laser Clinic, a hair restoration clinic in Winnipeg, are out thousands of dollars after the facility suddenly shut down recently.

The abrupt closure of the clinic, also known as Fusion Hair Therapy, shocked customers like Darcy Desjardins, who found the doors were locked when he went there for a regular appointment two weeks ago.

Desjardins, a 25-year-old university student, said he paid the clinic $4,400 in cash — after working full-time last summer — for one year's worth of hair restoration treatments.

He said he started receiving weekly treatments in November, but they suddenly stopped when the clinic closed down.

"Complete shock. My stomach dropped," Desjardins told CBC News.

"I'm in university. I can't afford to lose this money without getting any gain in return."

Biothera Laser Clinic is owned by Douglas Slamko of Edmonton, according to corporate documents.

Similar clinics in Edmonton, Vancouver and Scarborough, Ont., have closed recently.

One of Slamko's family members told CBC News he had not spoken to him in quite a few years, but Slamko was last believed to be in Australia.

The Better Business Bureau has posted an alert on its website about the company, but it says Biothera clients who have lost money as a result of the clinic's closure will have to pursue legal options.