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Girls Gone Wild founder, Joe Francis sentenced for false income taxes and bribary
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Today, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero, accepted a plea deal and sentenced Joe Francis to 301 days, time served, and a year of probation. He will also have to pay nearly $250,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
The 36-year-old Girls Gone Wild founder, pleaded guilty in September to two misdemeanor counts for filing false income tax returns and bribing jail workers for food.
Francis, shot to the big leagues in 1997 when he founded Mantra Films, Inc., offering to the public Girls Gone Wild. It was Francis' brainchild, filming college-age women "going wild," for the cameras at spring breaks and popular vacation spots.
Mantra has recorded sales in excess of $100 million per year.
Gambling debt, tax evasion, and civil suits are just a few of Francis' problems.
In January 2004 Francis was kidnapped from his Bel Air home by Darnell Riley. Riley videotaped and threatened Francis in humiliating ways. The assailant later attempted to extort $500,000 from Francis and he received a 10-year sentence. The case was to say the least, "sketchy."
In the latest news from Judge Otero, Francis is not restricted to travel but must tell authorities if he plans to travel abroad.
Francis told the judge that Francis he would stay clear of trouble and get back to work building the "Girls Gone Wild" brand in the U.S. and abroad.
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