Theft of services most commonly refers to stealing cable television, or bypassing the meter of public utilities. Sometimes it includes "dashing out" on a bill that is due immediately upon rendering services, such as skipping out on a check at a restaurant. Some states define it more generally as "intentionally obtaining services by deception, fraud, coercion, false pretense or any other means to avoid payment for the services." Even if your state has the broader definition, I don't think it would be enough that you "know that you will most likely never see money owed to you." I think that the client must obtain your services through fraud, coercion or false pretenses to avoid payment.
I am not sure how you would even file charges. I would guess that you would have to contact the prosecutor's office and convince them to bring charges. Most likely they would consider non-payment by a client to be a civil matter and they will tell you to sue them. It seems like a long shot to me, but I'm not familiar with the laws in Pennsylvania.
Just to be clear - I am not an attorney and this is just my lay understanding. It may be worth while to call an attorney, or the prosecutor's office and ask. The worse they can do is laugh a little and tell you to sue them. Suing them is always an option - if you aren't willing to hire an attorney and sue them, why would the prosecutor be willing to expend the resources to prosecute them criminally?
Best,
Robert A. Franco
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