Poker Player Faces Fraud Charges After Possible Fake KidnappingAuthorities Are Investigating Whether Four-Time World Series Of Poker Champ Staged Abduction |
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In December 2023, four-time World Series of Poker Circuit winner George Paul Janssen was found with his hands zip-tied and a bloody face along a rural road in Meade Township, Michigan.
Janssen said he was kidnapped by a Mexican cartel after the gang tried to extort him for two years.
Some in the Wolverine State now believe the entire kidnapping may have been a ruse to scam 20 banks out of $3.2 million. According to reports, he allegedly used fake documents to apply for loans and is now accused of fraud after an investigation by the FBI.
Janssen was arrested last week on fraud charges and the bizarre tale made international news.
The part-time poker player has almost $550,000 in tournament winnings. In 2022, he won three WSOP Circuit online events. He added a fourth ring from another online poker series in 2023.
Janssen disappeared in November 2023. A month later, he was found on the road. The incident came after he allegedly falsified business documents and lost his license to sell cars.
“This was not the first time they found Janssen falsifying business documents and, on October 30, 2023, Janssen lost his license to sell cars in Michigan for a five-year period,” a federal complaint notes.
The Michigan Department of State Office of Investigative Services found “discrepancies in his sales and inventory.” They found he listed “the same fictitious vehicles in multiple loan applications.”
As a result, his auto dealership was closed.
Longtime friend Earl McKee said Janssen “used their friendship to ask [him] to take out multiple vehicle loans,” according to The Independent. McKee later altered authorities of the suspicious transactions.
“There’s been a lot of collateral damage due to what George has done,” he told the newspaper. “I have a family, I have a career. I don’t need his problems, too. This was a shock to everyone.”
McKee also added that he wasn’t sure if the kidnapping was real or not. During the alleged kidnapping, a family friend found his car with some cash, including a $50 bill, located on the floorboard, according to reports.
A family member told local news outlets at the time that two or three people abducted Janssen and transported him to the Toledo area, where he was kept against his will for 35 days in a basement.
“From what we gathered, he was being brought up here to recover some money that was hidden to give to these two assailants,” Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson said.
Janssen withdrew large amounts of cash from his bank accounts before the incident, prosecutors note. Federal authorities haven’t commented on whether they believe the entire story is real. Janssen now faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
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