Sucks because this could have been easily prevented by using escrow.

Sorry for your loss, you did the right thing to go out here and warn everyone against dealing with this guy. What he's trying to do is probably waste time and make you think that your money will be returned eventually, and he would be able to scam some more people in the meantime. He probably never had any intentions in helping you with the promised solution in the first place.

Whoever you are dealing with, even if they sound insightful and knowledgeable, I'd say that any transaction above 0.01 BTC should demand an escrow so that you are protected. And your amount was well above that. Plenty of free options around as well. Take this as a lesson, OP.