The life of four-time WSOP Circuit winner George Janssen has certainly been an interesting one over the last 18 months, and not for any of the right reasons.
Last week, a criminal complaint was filed against Janssen, charging him with federal fraud after a Michigan bank got in touch with the FBI. The bank reported that Janssen passed nearly $1.35 million in bad checks to fund his failing used car dealership, Bay Auto Brokers.
Janssen allegedly deposited checks in that amount to Copoco Community Credit Union, which were returned due to insufficient funds. Janssen then turned around the checks issued by Copoco and deposited the amount in his Bay Auto Brokers business account at Independent Bank.
Janssen was using his used car dealership as a vehicle to pull off a complicated loan scheme. In fact, a total of 20 different financial institutions reported that Janssen had defrauded them for a total of nearly $4 million.
In addition, many of Janssen’s friends and family have come forward, claiming to be victims of his extensive fraud. His own son claims to have taken out $288,000 worth of loans for his father.
This all comes just over a year after Janssen disappeared for over a month, showing up bloodied and zip-tied on the side of a road, claiming he had been kidnapped by a Mexican cartel that had extorted him since October 2021.
Janssen has claimed that he was approached by a gunman after a poker tournament and was forced to drop off $25,000 in boxes all across Michigan for a total of roughly $2 million.
It has yet to be determined whether any part of Janssen’s story is true, including the abduction itself. Janssen is currently free on bond.
Janssen has not won a ring at any of the top WSOP Circuit destinations, winning all four of his rings in Michigan-exclusive online events on WSOP.com.
As for live poker, it’s clear that Janssen knows how to play Texas Hold’em. Janssen has $440,763 in career live tournament earnings across 24 results, most notably winning the 2023 MSPT Main Event at the Venetian for $82,823.
His last recorded result came in an online WSOP bracelet event in June of last year.
Clearly, his poker strategy is much more sound than his life strategy.