My spouse met Michael Lyon, contractor, in our neighborhood, as he was painting the exterior home of a neighbor. Soon after, we met with him in our home so he may provide a quote to remodel our shower and to paint our ceiling. He provided a quote which we agreed to, then we signed a contract which we requested a copy of (on 6/10/25) and was never emailed to us as requested. I also inquired about paying with credit card (which was listed as an option on the contract) but he stated that he no longer accepts credit card payments. I sent payment by Zelle on 6/10/25 for the amount of $1985.84. He reached out by phone on Thursday, 6/12/25, to schedule his guys to come paint the ceiling the following week, but stated that the tilework for the shower would be pushed back the week after due to the rain. When asked, he never provided a solid explanation as to why the rain would delay our project, despite that it is an indoor project. I told him I would let him know the following day (Friday, 6/13) after I check with my manager if he could send the painter on Wednesday, 6/18, as I wanted to plan to be at home while the work would be done. On Friday, 6/13, morning, I sent a text to Michael confirming that Wednesday will work. We did not receive a response. On Monday morning, 6/16, my husband sent a text to Michael to confirm if painter would arrive on Wednesday, 6/18 as previously discussed. When there was no response, I called Michael in the evening and he later called me back and stated that he had pneumonia and would attempt to send a painter on Thursday. We have not been able to reach Michael since then. We have attempted calling, texting, emailing-- on Monday, 6/23, I discovered that both his cell and office phone #s are disconnected. He has not responded to my email that I sent on Monday, 6/23. I also reached out through Yelp and Google, sending him a message under his company's name under "Write a Review" in case he might see the messages there and reach out, but we have not heard back. At this point, we fear that we have been scammed and he has "run off" with our monetary deposit.