Judge OKs plea deal for 'Girls Gone Wild' founder
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge sentenced "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis on Friday to 301 days already served and a year of probation for filing false income tax returns and bribing Nevada jail workers.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero accepted the terms of a plea deal between Francis and prosecutors, who struck the agreement after learning on the eve of trial that a key witness had withheld information from them.
An ecstatic Francis politely answered questions during the hearing then turned and kissed his mother after he was sentenced.
"I think we won that one," he said after the hearing.
The soft-porn mogul who filmed and marketed videos of young women was indicted by a federal grand jury on tax evasion charges in 2007. He initially was accused of taking $20 million in fraudulent tax deductions.
Under the deal, Francis pleaded guilty in September to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns and one count of bribing Nevada jail workers in exchange for food.
He acknowledged omitting more than $500,000 in interest income on his 2003 tax returns and said he gave more than $5,000 in goods to the jail employees.
The plea deal also required Francis to pay $250,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Otero did not restrict travel by Francis but said he must tell authorities if he intended to travel abroad.
Francis vowed to steer clear of trouble and get back to work building the "Girls Gone Wild" brand in the U.S. and abroad.
The tax case against him fizzled when his former accountant Michael Barrett told prosecutors about hundreds of e-mails that Francis is using in a lawsuit against Barrett.
Francis accuses Barrett in the pending litigation of fraudulently billing him for hundreds of thousands of dollars in phony goods and expenses.
Barrett, who had filed tax returns for Francis, had sought a reward from the IRS for pointing out alleged wrongdoing, a move that Otero told prosecutors put his credibility in serious question.
A phone message left for Barrett's attorney was not immediately returned Friday.
Comments
- Sports on the air 1:21 a.m.
- 2009 MLS Cup recap 12:45 a.m.
- MLS Cup winners, MVPs 12:41 a.m.
- Real Salt Lake: Game at a glance 12:36 a.m.
- Paper circulation worse than it looks 12:28 a.m.
- RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks 12:22 a.m.
- Editorial: Cancer screening 12:15 a.m.
- Afterthoughts 12:15 a.m.
- Treat teachers with respect, trust 12:15 a.m.
- 'Reform' helps old, hurts young 12:15 a.m.
- BYU records with win
- Jazz outlast Pistons in overtime
- Glenn Beck to enter politics?
- Cougars turn focus to dreaded rivals
- Man dies after being run over
- Florida No. 1, TCU 4 in AP Top 25
- Former BYU professor remembered
- Cougars put the fun back in football
- Kirilenko heating up for the Jazz
- Wendover airfield's legacy lost?
- Buttars wants to limit gay rights laws
202 - Glenn Beck to enter politics?
193 - Palin plans tour stop in Utah
178 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
139 - BYU records with win
129 - Palin's book shows she's unqualified
129 - Officer cleared in Cardall Taser case
103 - BYU cuts Women's Research Inst.
101 - Jazz finally win in San Antonio
98 - Utes knock off rival Aggies
93
Game Crazy is the nation's second largest video game retailer and they...
The number of TDs Maxi throws to RoJo. How? RoJo picks the passes and...
Great Article
The polls reflect where and what the MWC conference deserves. TCU is the...
ABA teams weren't major league...the Stars don't count, that's like counting...
This was an awesome game to watch. I was so proud of our team. They played...
Reagan was a disaster to Utah and the country. Don't think there is much of...
He brought Utes back to BCS in 2008 --that is something that little...
It makes you wonder if anyone in the "Greatest Generation" really cares about...
If Weis is fired, look for Manti Teo to serve an LDS mission then come to BYU...
There is a difference of discussing as enforcing ones beliefs and practices...


You can be the first to comment on this story.