Joe Francis

Joseph R. "Joe" Francis (born April 1, 1973) is an American entrepreneur and film producer. He is best known as being the founder and creator of the Girls Gone Wild entertainment brand. Francis worked as a production assistant on the syndicated program Real TV before releasing the direct-to-video film, Banned from Television, in 1998.
Francis has, at various times, been convicted of tax evasion, bribery, false imprisonment, assault causing great bodily injury, dissuading a witness, record-keeping violations and has pleaded no contest to child abuse and prostitution.

Biography

Francis was born on April 1, 1973 in Atlanta, Georgia to Raymond Francis, and Maria Francis, who was from Austria. According to Francis, when he was seven years old, the family moved to Newport Beach, California, where he attended Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Elementary School, and then a series of boarding schools. He then lived in Laguna Beach and attended Laguna Beach High School. His first job was at a computer and video store.

Francis attended the University of Southern California’s Business Administration program. While at USC, he took part in the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. In addition to studying business, Francis took several courses in film and television. Francis graduated from USC in 1995 with a Bachelor’s Degree from the USC Entrepreneurial Program.

Business ventures

Banned from Television

Francis’ first business venture began when he was working as a production assistant for Real TV, a reality television program that aired footage of extraordinary events that were not usually covered in mainstream news. It was there that Francis came up with the idea for Banned from Television. During his time at Real TV, people who worked in the studio would often view footage involving car accidents, attacks, and other graphic events. Francis licensed the footage which he then sold through the Banned from Television videos which he marketed on paid television advertisements. While viewing footage for inclusion on Banned from Television, Francis came across footage of female college students flashing their breasts during Mardi Gras and spring break. It was this footage that sparked Francis’ next business venture with Girls Gone Wild.

Girls Gone Wild

Joe Francis created the Girls Gone Wild franchise in 1997 when he began using direct-response marketing, such as infomercials, to sell videos that he had produced. The videos were of college age women who willingly exposed their bodies or acted wildly on camera. In its first two years, Girls Gone Wild made more than $20 million. By 2002, Francis had produced 83 different Girls Gone Wild titles and was airing 30-minute infomercials on all major U.S. networks. In 2005, the company planned to donate 100% of their gross sales of their Mardi-Gras themed DVDs to the Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Journalist Claire Hoffman profiled Francis in the Los Angeles Times in a first-hand account of Francis and the Girls Gone Wild crew.

Abbey Wilson, who won Girls Gone Wild’s "Search for the Hottest Girl in America" contest in 2012, became Francis' long term girlfriend. In 2013 her iPad, containing private sexual videos between Francis and Wilson, was stolen. In retaliation, and to shut distribution of the video before it was sold to any media outlets, Francis' lawyer David Houston threatened, “when we catch you, we will see that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of both the criminal and civil laws.” In 2014 Wilson become pregnant with twins via in vitro fertilisation. On Oct 7, 2014, Wilson gave birth to two healthy girls.

Legal issues

Civil

In June 2007, Ashley Alexandra Dupré alleged that Francis and his company filmed her without permission, but she dropped the suit after Francis released footage showing her consent.

In 2008, four women sued Girls Gone Wild for allegedly filming them as minors. Francis represented himself for part of the trial, until the judge cited him for contempt of court and fined him $2,500 for asking a plaintiff during cross-examination if she was a prostitute. Francis hired two lawyers that same day to represent him for the duration of his trial.

In February 2012, Clark County, Nevada judge Mark Denton awarded Steve Wynn $7.5 million for defamatory statements made by Francis. In September 2012, a jury awarded Steve Wynn $20 million in a slander case against Joe Francis for claiming that Wynn had threatened to kill him over a gambling debt. Francis' witnesses all denied hearing Wynn make such threats. The jury added $20 million in punitive damages. In November 2012, Judge Joanne O'Donnell reduced Steve Wynn's award by $21 million to $19 million. O'Donnell reasoned that the jury's award was "speculative," and based on their dislike of Francis.

Criminal

State

In 2003 in Panama City Beach, Florida, officials attempted to halt Girls Gone Wild from filming. Francis sued the officials for violating his First Amendment rights. The same officials arrested Francis for racketeering. He was released on bond. At a July 2006 hearing, the judge disallowed most of the evidence and in January 2007 dismissed most of the charges. Francis pleaded guilty to record-keeping violations, was fined $1.6 million and sentenced to community service. Francis pleaded guilty for having contraband in his cell. He served 339 days and paid over $60,000 in fines.

In January 2011 Francis brought a group of three women to his home, leading to five charges, three misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment, one of assault causing great bodily injury, and one of dissuading a witness. On Monday, May 6, 2013, Francis was convicted on all five charges. He faced a maximum of five years in prison, and/or $13,000 in fines. On May 22, 2013, Francis did an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, calling the jurors "mentally ... retarded" and suggesting they "should be euthanized." He later apologized for his remarks, but stated that he had been manipulated by the media.

On August 27, 2013, Francis was sentenced to serve at least 270 days in county jail, 36 months probation, and was ordered to complete a Level 3 Anger Management course and a year of psychological counseling. Francis's attorneys immediately filed a new trial petition.

Federal

In April 2007, in Reno, Nevada Francis was indicted by a grand jury for two counts of tax evasion. The Department of Justice alleged that Francis claimed over $20 million in false deductions on his corporate returns in 2002 and 2003.

In April 2008, venue changed to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. At a hearing in July 2008, Francis pleaded not guilty to tax evasion. Francis' attorney, Robert Bernhoft, said that tax returns for the businesses were prepared and filed by a former accountant and not shown to Francis. Bernhoft said that when the accountant left the company, the accountant reported the returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect a bonus from the Tax Whistleblower Program.

In September 2009, Francis pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of filing a false return and bribery. He received credit for time served. In November 2009, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero accepted Francis’ plea including $250,000 in restitution to the IRS.

Bankruptcy

His corporation, GGW Brands and the parent company for the Girls Gone Wild entertainment brand filed for bankruptcy in February 2013. The bankruptcy was meant to block Wynn Resorts from seizing the assets of the company for repayment of Francis' gambling debts.

In May 2015, a U.S. District Court judge issued an arrest warrant for Francis after he failed to comply with terms of his bankruptcy agreement. As of 2015 he was reportedly living in Mexico with his girlfriend and their twin daughters. Extradition treaties between the U.S. and Mexico are not applicable for civil contempt warrants.