One word: Lawsuit.
Misrepresentation and falsified sales are easily grounds enough to provide him with legal compensation for what happened. Though I detest them, I would probably also slap on a punative damage award in this case to send a message to other tatoo artists. Even though the tatoo artist packed up, business and tax records should prove sufficient to track him down if he's still in the country.
On a side note, this is also why I don't sport tatoos, period.