Boss claims I was never hired and I work for free.

[TGTGTG]

Hi, I was recently hired by a company specializing in Italian leathers and hardware. I am 19 years old male. I was in talks with him about my salary then told that he will not pay for first week. I took it on as a trial period, paying 5 dollars to park each day in downtown Los Angeles. After that week was over, we negotiated salary and was at $500 a week, $26000 a year. After two weeks, he refuses to pay me and tells me not to come in if I do not go by his terms of working for free. Now he claims he never hired me. He is also threatening me with a lawyer. The company is in financial ruins. The other employee has not been paid in 6 weeks despite thousands in sales. The bookkeeper urges me to get paid soon. The bookkeeper was not paid also. What can I do? I am young and he is taking advantage of this. All his employees left because he did not pay them on time or refuses to pay them. I did not sign employment contracts or anything because he insisted on the "italian word of mouth". Is there anything I can do to sue him. I was planning on small claims but he is threatening me with a lawyer. His lawyer costs $350 per hour so that is unlikely. I worked for two weeks full time at 8 hours a day, five days a week. What can I do?