I had a business,I had several ontracts and deposits,but do to several reasons I was unable to do the work.now two years have passed and I got a call from a detective tha he was about to file criminal charges,is he able to still file charges sine its been two years/

Can I still be charged

Can I be charged for theft by deception after two years have passed/

What was the dollar amount of the services you cheated them out of?

You are referring to the statute of limitations and they will vary from state to state, also from crime to crime.

In the US, misdemeanors (<$500) are normally one year from date of offense, but felonies (>$500) can be from 1 year to up to 7 for the average felony. I'm not positive, but I think more serious felonies can be longer.

I think you need to contact an attorney to see what the law is in your area, because you could be in a lot of trouble.

And why did you not return their money when you could not do the work ?

For the theft, they will have to prove you did not intend to ever do the work but was taking the money just to take it. If you had business issues that you can prove it may be a defense to make it merely a civil issue.

But yes, if it is a larger amount of money, 2 years is a short time and yes they could still charge