It's pretty obvious this "network" (a.k.a. some dirtbag laundering leads out of a crappy Myrtle Beach apartment) has no intentions of ever paying you and probably just hopes you'll go away. Since it's only $2k, its definitely not worth bringing in a lawyer but if I were you I'd definitely look into taking him to small claims court. I don't know whether you have to do it local to you or local to him but you should be able to find that out by calling both courts. After that, it's all about showing up and presenting evidence. If he doesn't show, you automatically win. Whether you actually get anything even after you win in small claims court is iffy as well but at the least, if he doesn't pay up, I'm fairly sure he can be arrested. But I'm no lawyer.
In the end, what's $2k worth to you? Again, its OBVIOUS he has no intention of paying you after 7 months. He figures that he can drop you an email every so often to calm you down for a few weeks until you start bugging him again and then he just has to send another to calm you down. He's punking you and you're letting him. So decide whether to pursue him and get your $2k back or wash your hands of the whole deal but obviously posting over and over on the forums complaining about it isn't doing a whole lot.
In the end, what's $2k worth to you? Again, its OBVIOUS he has no intention of paying you after 7 months. He figures that he can drop you an email every so often to calm you down for a few weeks until you start bugging him again and then he just has to send another to calm you down. He's punking you and you're letting him. So decide whether to pursue him and get your $2k back or wash your hands of the whole deal but obviously posting over and over on the forums complaining about it isn't doing a whole lot.
