'Girls Gone Wild' founder charged with tax evasion

In this photo released by the Bay County Sheriff's Office, Joe Francis, 34, is shown after he surrendered in Panama City, Fla..

The multi-millionaire founder of Girls Gone Wild films, was arrested on contempt of court charges after lawyers for seven women complained he shouted obscenities and threatened them during civil suit settlement negotiations.
By Michael Muskal
Times Staff Writer

1:26 PM PDT, April 11, 2007

Joe Francis, founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" empire, has been indicted on charges of tax evasion, the federal government announced today.

Francis, 34, of Santa Monica, was indicted by a grand jury in Reno, Nev., the Department of Justice announced. He is charged with deducting more than $20 million in false business expenses on the 2002 and 2003 corporate income tax returns filed on behalf of his Mantra Films Inc. and Sands Media Inc.

Francis built a media empire selling video and DVDs of young women exposing themselves during alcohol-fueled celebrations.

According to the indictment, Francis is charged with using offshore bank accounts to conceal income he earned during 2002 and 2003. The indictment also alleges that Francis transferred more than $15 million from an offshore bank account to a brokerage account in Irvine, Calif., held in the name of Rothwell Limited, a Cayman Islands corporation, that Francis controlled, the government said.

If convicted, Francis faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.

He is scheduled to appear on May 22 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. McQuaid Jr. in Reno.

Francis was arrested on Tuesday at the Panama City Bay County International Airport in Florida on a contempt of court citation.

The arrest followed a last-minute breakdown in talks to settle a civil lawsuit filed by seven young women who alleged that they were victimized by Francis' film crews during filming in Florida in 2003.