Poker Pro Charged with Defrauding 20 Institutions Prior to Alleged Kidnapping

George Janssen is a four-time WSOP circuit winner who has amassed $440,763 from live games, according to his profile on The Hendon Mob, an online repository of online poker players and their achievements.

Janssen Disappears Following Series of Bad Events in His Life

Yet, Janssen has been in a hot mess over the past several years, and he eventually ended up tied and bloodied near the city of Bad Axe, Michigan, on December 16, 2023. However, this is not the whole story.

The poker ace was arrested on Wednesday last week and charged by federal prosecutors with defrauding 20 different financial institutions out of at least $3.2 million before he was allegedly kidnapped in November 2023.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that the 42-year-old man used his car dealership in Bad Axe, where he was based, to float loans at the expense of lenders.

Prior to his supposed kidnapping in 2023, Janssen had his car dealership revoked as the scheme he had allegedly orchestrated surfaced. His license was revoked by state authorities because they established that Janssen had falsified business documentation to secure the loans.

The kidnapping happened two weeks later, and the Huron County Sheriff’s Office has had trouble verifying the facts of whether Janssen had indeed been kidnapped, although there was some evidence to suggest as much.

Janssen had repeatedly shared with friends that he had been terrorized by a Hispanic gang, which had threatened violence against him and his family over unpaid money. He claimed to have paid back the gang around $ 2 million before his kidnapping. Before his disappearance, Janssen also withdrew around $120,000 from various ATMs, arguably to pay the gang their latest demand.

Fresh Charges Seek to Shed Light on Man’s Fate

The new complaint that has now been filed against Janssen in Bay City, Michigan, federal court could help hold the man to account for the car dealership saga but also help clarify how much of his kidnapping was in fact true.

Investigators have remained somewhat reserved about Janssen’s recounting of events, not because of any inherent implausibility but rather because of the timing of all that happened. His car dealership was eventually targeted after a complaint came in August 2023, arguing that Janssen’s business could have been tied to falsifying business records and in fact dodgy loans.

A further investigation by Bay Auto Brokers, which is an audit by the Michigan Department of State Office of Investigative Service, indeed found “discrepancies in his sales and inventory, leading to a suspension of his license.

Janssen was supposedly found out after he sent his family a handwritten note in which he asked about the health of certain family members – Kirby, Iggy, Daisey, Noah, Anthony, and Parker. Those people did not exist in Janssen’s family, but they spelt K-I-D-N-A-P, once again adding to the bizarre situation the poker pro found himself.