Paint shop jail... No parole!!!

I rebuilt a 72 Grand Prix a few years back. I paid my painter up front and let him take the car for several weeks. Around the 4th week I got a call from a buddy of mine saying that he saw my car in a shop that they were foreclosing on. Luckily my buddy gave me a heads up because the remaining five cars he had in the shop were seized with the property. I lost four grand and had an unpainted car. The painter ended up having a gambling problem and was using all his money to pay back gambling debts. I will never pay up front again