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More than a year after being found zip-tied and bloodied on a rural Michigan road and alleging he was the victim of a $2 million extortion scheme, poker player George Janssen is now being accused of fraud by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Janssen, four-time World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) ring winner and Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Main Event champion, was reported missing in November 2023. After being found on the side of the road a month later, he told police he had been held captive in a basement for 35 days and had been regularly giving “large amounts of cash” to men who had extorted him for more than two years.

The incident reads like the plot of Fargo — which sees William H. Macy’s character arrange his wife’s kidnapping to avoid car dealership debts — right up to Janssen running a Midwestern used car dealership. After the complaint unsealed on Wednesday, it reads even more like the 1996 thriller.

The complaint filed in US District Court and reviewed by PokerNews, alleges that Janssen “knowingly executed a scheme or artifact (sic) to defraud to obtain money, funds or other property” owned by nearly two dozen financial institutions.

$3.9 Million in Fraudulent Vehicle Loans

The complaint describes the 42-year-old as on the verge of financial desperation when he went missing in late 2023.

In August 2023, the Michigan Department of State Office of Investigative Services audited Bay Auto Brokers and determined Janssen “had used the same fictitious vehicles in multiple loan applications.” The complaint says it “was not the first time they found Janssen falsifying business documents” and he lost his license to sell cars in Michigan for a five-year period.

In November 2023, just days before Janssen went missing, a COPOCO Credit Union executive contacted the FBI to report that Janssen had deposited a series of checks valued around $1.4 million to his business Bay Auto Brokers that were returned with insufficient funds. In the meantime, the credit union had issued Janssen with $1.3 million in valid checks that were deposited in the Bay Auto Brokers account.

The complaint references Janssen’s kidnapping allegations, noting that he told family and friends “he had been extorted by a Hispanic gang or cartel for the previous two years.”

During the 33 days he was missing, the FBI and other agencies were notified of “several loans which had gone unpaid” taken out by close associates of Janssen and apparently at his direction.

Collectively, the group obtained more than $3.93 million from various banks and credit unions. The group’s outstanding balance is more than $1.94 million, according to the complaint, though it is closer to $3.3 million when including the $1.3 million removed from COPOCO Credit Union.

According to the complaint, multiple friends of Janssen approached law enforcement “to clear their name and express concern they had been defrauded by Janssen, who convinced them to take out multiple vehicle loans.”

Poker Player’s Son Mentioned in Complaint

George’s son, Connor Janssen, is mentioned in the complaint and said to have been a salesperson at Bay Auto who was also responsible for depositing checks into the business accounts.

The complaint alleges that Connor “knew his father was taking false loans and moving money with checks from bank to bank” and took out loans on his father’s behalf.

“Connor told Agents he thought the vehicles were real when he took out the loans, but remarked he never saw the vehicles, nor any paperwork,” the complaint states. “Connor also told Agents he thought his father was making the loan documents in Microsoft Word.”

PokerNews spoke with Connor Janssen on the phone in February 2024. He told PokerNews he didn’t have any information about his father’s alleged kidnapping or any pending investigations.

Janssen’s kidnapping account, which was documented in Michigan police reports, contained cryptic details, including a family member saying they received a handwritten letter from Janssen spelling out “Kidnap.”

In January 2024, detectives noted they had learned that Janssen was “a couple million dollars worth of debt to his bank.”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office closed its missing persons investigation when Janssen was found in December 2023 and forwarded the case to the FBI. At the time, the FBI would not confirm or deny an investigation to PokerNews.

No charges are currently filed against Janssen.

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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