A four-time World Series of Poker Circuit winner and car dealer from Michigan, who claimed he was kidnapped and held in a basement in 2023, has reportedly pleaded guilty to defrauding at least 20 banks and credit unions.
MLive reports that an affidavit authored by an FBI special agent accuses George Paul Janssen Jr. of applying for multiple loans using fictitious vehicles.
The Bay Auto Brokers owner also asked his close associates to take out loans for vehicles that they thought were in his possession.
The loans amounted to more than $3.93 million, causing the financial institutions Janssen targeted losses of about $3.28 million.
The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of financial institutional fraud on August 19th, about two years after the state investigated his dealership for fraudulent vehicle loans and found discrepancies in the business’s sales and inventory.
Janssen went missing from November 13th to December 6th, 2023 following the suspension of his license to sell vehicles in October. He was later found bloodied and zip-tied on the side of a road claiming that a Mexican cartel held him in a basement and extorted him for $2 million.
Authorities received reports that a number of Janssen’s loans went unpaid during his disappearance.
The sentencing is set for December 11th. Financial institutional fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million and up to five years of supervised release.
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