Poker Player Sentenced to Prison for Fraud After Kidnapping Claim

George Janssen, a Michigan poker player, was sentenced to three years in federal prison for fraud. Janssen claimed he was kidnapped in 2023, but authorities found evidence of a $3.9 million fraud scheme.

Janssen was missing for 35 days. He was found with his hands zip-tied and a bloody face along a rural road in a nearby township about 10 miles from his home. The FBI found that Janssen engineered a scheme to take out $3.9 million in fraudulent loans through his car dealership, Bay Auto Brokers in Bay City. Janssen used fake documents to apply for loans using fictitious vehicles as collateral.

Janssen must pay $908,235 in restitution to victims. Janssen has more than $500,000 in live tournament earnings. Janssen won four WSOP Circuit rings and a Mid-States Poker Tour title from September 2024. Janssen's family alerted law enforcement when he was allegedly kidnapped. Janssen's family said the kidnappers took him to Monroe County, which is about 170 miles south of his hometown of Bad Axe. A family member said two or three people were responsible for the abduction and later transported him to the Toledo area. Janssen said they kept him against his will in a basement for 35 days before they took him to Michigan’s Huron County. A family friend later found his car with some cash, including a $50 bill located on the floorboard. Longtime friend Earl McKee told The Independent that Janssen “used their friendship to ask [him] to take out multiple vehicle loans.” Earl McKee later reported suspicious transactions to law enforcement and expressed some doubt that the kidnapping, which came after he lost his license to sell cars in October 2023, was actually real.