Poker Pro George Janssen Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

George Janssen, a Michigan poker pro and four-time WSOP Circuit ring winner, has been sentenced to three months in prison plus three years of supervised release due to a $4 million auto loan scheme. In addition to that, he will be required to pay almost a million dollars in restitution to his victims.

Janssen to Spend Three Years in Jail

Janssen previously tried to attribute his auto loan scheme to an alleged kidnapping he claimed to have been subjected to. Although the player was found zip-tied on the side of a road in Michigan two years ago and claimed that mobsters had extorted him for money, later investigations determined that the entire thing was likely a hoax fabricated by Janssen to avoid responsibility.

Janssen was never charged with falsely reporting a crime, but he did eventually plead guilty to the auto loan scheme, which defrauded almost a dozen financial institutions out of $4 million. The fraud saw Janssen and his accomplices cash over $3.93 million in fraudulent auto loan checks.

Janssen’s attorney attributed the scheme to financial difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. He asserted that the player had always intended to pay the money back.

According to a report by PokerNews, the player has now been officially sentenced to 36 months in prison, as well as 3 years of supervised release. He will also be required to pay $908,235 in restitution to his victims.

Janssen Secured a Lighter Sentence, But Not as Light as He’d Wanted

The defendant recently asked the court for a lighter sentence of only 24 months, saying that he planned to raise the restitution money by playing poker. Janssen’s attorney noted that the player has proven that he can make a profit from poker and asserted that allowing him to walk free earlier would help him to raise this money.

The defense also noted that a lighter sentence would allow the player to return to his family earlier. The attorney emphasized that if Janssen spends four years in prison, it “will help nobody.”

For context, the minimum sentencing guideline was 51 months. As a result, the 36 months Janssen received seems like a middle ground between his proposed 24 months and the recommended 51.