Nearly a year after a planned guided bear hunting trip to Canada was abruptly canceled, six Butler County men still are looking to get their deposit money back.

The victims — three of them state troopers — are owed a collective $8,400, authorities said.

State police last week filed felony theft charges against a Michigan man, who is accused of preying on the hunters. In turn, District Judge Lewis Stoughton signed an arrest warrant for Kevin M. Girven, 47, of Bear Lake.

“Me personally, all I want is my money back,” Thomas Knights, one of the victims, said.

He is the Butler Township superintendent of public works.

According to court documents, the other victims are Jason Terwilliger, Michael Lewis and Andrew Kamerer Jr., all troopers, and David Herold and Adam Martin.

The six men in January 2014 signed a contract, each putting down a $1,400 deposit, to hire Girven as their guide on a weeklong bear hunt that was to begin Aug. 25.

The victims booked the trip with Girven, who purported to be the new owner of Canadian-based High Mountain Outfitters.

The men chose the company because Terwilliger’s uncle had hired it, under its former ownership, for a bear hunt the previous year and “had a good experience,” according to a police affidavit.

Girven also assured the victims that he had a valid tourism operator’s license, which is required for a hunting excursion in Canada, police said.

But the hunters’ high hopes were ultimately dashed.

“He canceled on the day we were to leave,” Knights said of Girven. “We were enormously disappointed.”

The defendant also told Terwilliger that he deceived the victims and used their money as a down payment to buy the company. He promised to pay them back.

Police investigators eventually looked into the case and in March contacted Girven. He admitted he used the victims’ deposit money in a bid to buy the company but claimed the sale “fell through,” documents said.

He again insisted that he planned to return the money owed the victims. He also assured investigators that he had a valid tourism’s license.

But the police investigation in May found Girven had no current license. His most recent license expired March 31, 2014, documents said.

Girven, who did not return a telephone call seeking comment Tuesday, is charged with theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception, both third-degree felonies.