Contractor steals insurance money

I am trying to resolve an issue with a remolding contractor that cashed an and deposited it into his own banking account and quit the job. The check for $24,771 was an insurance payment to restore a burned home. The check land was adressed to the contractor and myself. We instructed the contractor to deposit the check into our account We live in Georgia and was not able to deposit the check ourselves. Instead the contractor deposited the check into his account without our permission and more importanly without our signature guarentee, which is required by his bank. When we discovered that the checked had not been deposited into our account, we spoke with the contractor and he resigned from the contract and kept $24,771 of the insurance money needed to repair the home. Since that time we have contacted the mortgage company, the insurance and the contractor's bank about the theft. We were informed by his bank that the check should have never been accepted without the signature guarentee.

[annjd]

That is a crime as well. File a police report and have the police get the funds back.