can i sue a person who defrauded me and ripped me off for money as a stock holder in his company back in 1985

Possibly, but it will be difficult to overcome the statute of limitations.  While I don't know the limitations period for fraud in VA, it certainly is not as long as 28 years.  However, in many jurisdictions, the limitations period for fraud runs not from the fraud itself, but from the time when the defrauded party discovers, or could with reasonable diligence have discovered, the fraud.  While you may have only recently discovered the fraud, the other side will almost certainly argue that you could, if you had acted with reasonable diligence, have discovered the fraud long ago, and that your claims are thus time barred.  You will have to be able to explain why it took you so long to do what you did to discover the fraud. BTW, just curious - since you did not question this guy when he said he was closing down, I assume that the business was not doing well, which implies that it had creditors.  Creditors are entitled to be paid before shareholders.  Is it possible that he didn't defraud you, but rather used the money from Western Union to pay the corporation's creditors?