Signed contract, paid downpayment, but contractor never showed up. What shoud I do?

I hired this guy to remove some trees around my house last month. He sent me a certificate of insurance from his insurance company. He was also very polite and very professional, which made me decide to hire him. So, I signed a contract, which stated that I needed to put down 50% downpayment for the job. Everything looked fine at that time so I gave him a $1750 check for the downpayment. However, it has been a month now and he never showed up and he already cashed out the check. He did not return my calls nor e-mails. I then did a background check on him and found out that he had 6 civil lawsuits against him in the past 2 years.
His insurance company is legit, but I am not sure his business nor his address is. I then reported him to the local police but they said that I need to call the Attorney General office.

My questions are:
1) Is what he did considered theft or scam? Is not scam/fraud a crime that the police should investigate?
2) Should I take him to the small claims court? I am not sure his address is legit
3) Can I get something from his insurance company?
4) What is the best way to stop this person from doing this to other people and get some of my money back if possible?

Step number 1 on FAdc is to tell us what state you are in.

1: it is one typical pattern of a scam
2: yes ... see below
3: maybe ... maybe you can get his address
4: have friends/colleagues get involved in trying to lure him into doing some work for them (up to the point of having to pay him). If he shows up, serve him with the summons for court.

1) Is what he did considered theft or scam? Is not scam/fraud a crime that the police should investigate?

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yes, it could be a scam, depending on what his justification was. The police don't often investigate this type of situation because it is typically considered to be civil in nature until there is proof it is a scam. The states AG is geared more for this type of investigation than the local police are.

2) Should I take him to the small claims court? I am not sure his address is legit

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that would be an option. I would suggest making an effort to discover if the address is legit.\

3) Can I get something from his insurance company?

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insurance company or bonding agency? From his insurance company, probably not. From his bonding agency, if he in fact does have a bond, possibly.

4) What is the best way to stop this person from doing this to other people and get some of my money back if possible?[

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There are very few things you could do to prevent him from doing it again to somebody.

If the guy has a state licence, you contact the licensing bureau and file a complaint with them. If there is a state agency, they might even have a fund to pay out claims against licensed contractors. If not, suing him would likely be your best direction for your money but be warned; winning a judgment doesn't mean you can collect on it.