Right…why did you pay upfront for everything vs a deposit or phased payment. I assume you have a period of performance on the contract. Like all work needs to be done 12/25/2022?

Contracts are in place so you don’t pay everything up front and detail the work being done. Contractors are shady sometimes and push people to pay upfront typically because they are in a financial hole. This could be the case

I would call the city first and make sure this guy is even licensed because if not you are in more hurt later. Then if he is not licensed you should fire him immediately and report this to the city.

There is no clean way to get the money back unless you take him to small claims court or you work out a deal for him to give x amount back. If you find out he is unlicensed and doing this work the court will make him give you the money back on a payment plan. Even though that payment plan is dependent on his income.

Small claims court is not crazy hard. You fill out documents and get a judge to take your case. It will be more of your time than anything.