Four-Time WSOP Circuit Ring Winner to Plead Guilty in $1M Fraud Case
Summary:
- Four-time WSOP Circuit ring winner George Janssen will plead guilty to federal financial institution fraud next week.
- Allegedly ran a multimillion-dollar auto loan scheme targeting banks & credit unions.
- Janssen previously claimed he was kidnapped and extorted for two years.
A US poker pro from Michigan whose disappearance two years ago sparked headlines around the world is now preparing to plead guilty to federal fraud charges.
Sensational Kidnapping and Extortion Story
George Janssen, a former used car dealer and four-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner, vanished for a few weeks toward the end of 2023. When he returned, the Bad Axe, Michigan resident claimed he had been under the control of men who had forced him to hand over “large amounts of cash” over the course of two years.
In February 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered a completely different story unfolded. According to the FBI, the man was actually the master of a long-running scheme that targeted nearly two dozen financial institutions in the Midwest from June 2016 through October 2023.
On July 17, the U.S. Department of Justice charged the poker player with one felony count of financial institution fraud, alleging he “knowingly executed a scheme or artifice to defraud and to obtain money, funds or other property” from COPOCO Credit Union, DORT Credit Union, and other banks by using “material false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises”.
The following day, the poker player with over $450,000 in live earnings, including an $82,823 win at the MSPT Venetian Main Event last September, decided to enter a guilty plea before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. His plea hearing has been delayed several times in the meantime, with the most recent date set for August 11 also moved to August 19.
Provided U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington accepts his plea, the judge will have full powers to establish
Whether to accept or reject any Rule 11 Plea agreement and will adjudicate guilt and impose sentence.
Fraud of Millions of Dollars
Apparently, Janssen’s scheme involved millions of dollars in fraudulent auto loans. Just a month before his disappearance, Michigan regulators revoked his car dealer license for five years for falsifying business documents.
According to the FBI, a COPOCO Credit Union executive reported in November 2023 that Janssen deposited approximately $1.4 million in checks to his business, Bay Auto Brokers, which later bounced.
By then, the credit union had already issued $1.3 million in valid checks to the account. Friends have also come forward to say Janssen persuaded them to take out multiple vehicle loans, leaving them feeling duped.
