‘Kidnapped’ Poker Champ George Janssen Arrested for Fraud

Posted on: February 28, 2025, 10:32h. 

Last updated on: February 28, 2025, 12:56h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • George Janssen claimed he was kidnapped and terrorized by a “Hispanic” gang
  • On Wednesday, he was charged with fraud for bilking banks out of $3.2 million

The Michigan poker player George Janssen, who in December 2023 claimed to have been kidnapped and held captive in a basement for 33 days, was arrested Wednesday and charged with fraud.

George Janssen, poker player, fraud, kidnap
George Janssen playing in the Mid-Stakes Poker Tour Venetian $1,600 Main Event in September 2023, an event he won for $82K just two months before his supposed abduction. (Image: MSPT)

Federal prosecutors accuse Janssen, 42, of bilking at least 20 financial institutions out of more than $3.2 million before his disappearance.

The four-time WSOP circuit champ used bogus paperwork to help him “float” loans, according to the indictment. Floating refers to taking out multiple loans using the same asset as collateral, in this case, a vehicle at his car dealership in his hometown of Bad Axe, Mich.

‘Terrorized and Extorted’

Two weeks before Janssen went missing, his Michigan car dealership license was revoked for five years because he was found to have falsified business documents.

During his disappearance, authorities discovered multiple unpaid loans linked to Janssen and associates. More than $3.93 million in loans had been taken out. Around $1.94 million was still outstanding.

Before his claimed kidnap, Janssen told a friend that he had been terrorized and extorted by a “Hispanic” criminal gang for approximately two years. He claimed this ordeal began when a masked man held a gun to his head as he got into his car in the parking garage of a Detroit casino, according to a November 2023 missing persons report. The man demanded $2 million, which Janssen said he didn’t have, the report states.

Janssen told his friend he was handed a burner phone so that the gang could contact him periodically to demand payments, threatening his family if he didn’t comply, according to the document. Janssen claimed he was instructed to leave the cash in boxes at drop-off points.

Daring Escape?

In the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Janssen withdrew more than $100K in cash. On the day he went missing, his car was found abandoned, with several $50 bills strewn on the floor.

Janssen was found zip-tied and covered in blood on a rural road outside of the city of Bad Axe on Dec. 16, 2023. He claimed he had been tied up in a basement in the Toledo, Ohio area before he managed to escape his captors.

During his supposed abduction, a family member received a handwritten letter from Jannsen.

In it, Janssen inquired about the health of certain friends and relatives, but he included the names of six family members who did not exist: Kirby, Iggy, Daisey, Noah, Anthony, and Parker. It was an acrostic cipher. The first letters of the fake names spell out K-I-D-N-A-P.