BAY CITY, Mich.— A Michigan poker player with four World Series of Poker Circuit titles is set to plead guilty in a fraud scheme that targeted nearly two dozen Midwestern credit unions, federal prosecutors say.
George Janssen, who built a reputation at the tables with more than $450,000 in career winnings, faces one felony count of financial institution fraud. Prosecutors allege that from 2016 to 2023, Janssen and others submitted falsified auto loan applications to credit unions, siphoning off millions of dollars—much of it funneled into his now-defunct dealership, Bay Auto Brokers, ACR Poker reported.
The Department of Justice said Janssen recruited friends and associates to take out fraudulent vehicle loans, with the funds ultimately benefiting his business. In one major incident in November 2023, he allegedly deposited $1.4 million in bad checks at COPOCO Credit Union while simultaneously cashing $1.3 million in valid ones, even as state regulators had already revoked his dealer license for falsified records, ACR Poker noted.
Several people later told law enforcement they had unwittingly been pulled into the scam. Janssen’s case gained notoriety late last year when he was reported missing for weeks before turning up injured on a rural road, claiming he had been kidnapped and extorted, ACR Poker noted.