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Joe Francis

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For other people named Joe Francis, see Joe Francis (disambiguation).
Joe Francis
Francis at his 33rd birthday party at Magic Mountain
Born
Joseph R. Francis

(1973-04-01) April 1, 1973 (age 51)
OccupationPornographer/Owner of Mantra Films Inc

Joseph R. "Joe" Francis, born April 1, 1973,[1] to Raymond and Maria Francis,[2] is an American businessman, famous as the founder of Mantra Films, Inc., which produces the Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild DVD series.

Early life and education

Francis grew up in Laguna Beach, California, USA.[3] He has three sisters: Babette Francis, two years older; Caroline Francis, a year and a half younger; and Christina Francis, 10 years younger.[2] He struggled with disciplinary problems and attended a string of strict military, boarding and Catholic schools before eventually graduating from Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach. In 1995 he graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Business Administration. He also completed USC’s Entrepreneur Program.[4]

Beginning of a brand

Joe Francis attending the second issue release party for Girls Gone Wild Magazine at Les Deux, Hollywood, June 4, 2008

Francis' first video, sold through infomercials, was a series of private clips and news footage deletions of fatal accidents that were considered too graphic for broadcast. Banned From Television was considered a commercial success and it spawned other sequels. One of the videos that Francis had licensed contained footage of female college students flashing their breasts during Mardi Gras and Spring Break. Seeing the marketing appeal, he titled that footage Girls Gone Wild (GGW). He eventually stopped licensing the material and began producing it himself.

In 1997, at the age of 24, Francis founded Mantra Films, Inc.[5] Building on Francis' discovery that he could film college-age women "going wild," including baring their breasts for the cameras at spring breaks and other locales, Mantra has become a company with over 400 employees and has recorded sales in excess of $100 million per year.[3][6] Mantra also spun off the Guys Gone Wild DVD series.

Francis' Girls Gone Wild is regularly referenced in today’s society and pop culture atmosphere and was recently cited as an example of "sexualization," number 23 on USA Today's list of the "25 Trends that Changed America".[7]

Controversies

Francis has attracted his share of controversies, including allegations of conspiracy to use minors in sexual performances. A 2006 Los Angeles Times interview mentions accusations of aggression toward women including repeated harassment and referring to them by epithets for the female genitalia, a death threat, and a rape accusation that Francis contested. Francis pinned the interviewer on the hood of his car to illustrate a point.[8]

Francis has been criticized by third wave feminist Ariel Levy for perpetuating what some consider "the new double standard," which equates the objectification of women with sexual liberation.[9]

In January 2004 Francis was kidnapped from his Bel Air home by a would-be blackmailer, Darnell Riley. Riley first put a revolver up to Francis's head and duct-taped his hands behind his back. He was then videotaped, bent over with his pants down, with a dildo next to him, saying "My name is Joe Francis and I take it in the ass." The assailant received a 10-year sentence.[8]

Mantra Films has come under legal scrutiny on a number of occasions. Recurring allegations include that footage of women engaged in sexual activity was used without the consent of the women, that Mantra Films engaged in sexual exploitation of minors, and that incomplete records were kept of participants in GGW videos.[10][11]

Francis has been a party to several lawsuits. Some stem from activities during the filming of videos and others from the company's practices.

Civil

In 2002, Becky Lynn Gritzke discovered that she had been covertly filmed flashing her breasts at a Mardi Gras festival and that the image had been used without her permission on billboards advertising Girls Gone Wild videos and on the cover of a video. She sued Mantra Films and settled for an undisclosed sum under an agreement according to which GGW agreed to cease distributing all material bearing Gritzke's image.[12]

In June 2007, Francis and Mantra Films became the subject of another lawsuit claiming that images had been used without the subject's permission.[13] However, the plaintiff, Ashley Alexandra Dupré better known as the prostitute involved in the Eliot Spitzer scandal that led to his resignation as New York governor in March of 2008, dropped the suit after Francis released footage showing her agreeing to be filmed.[14]

Charges in Florida

In an incident at Panama City Beach, Florida, during spring break 2003, Francis was arrested and then released on a $165,000 bond. He was initially charged with 71 separate counts, including racketeering, drug trafficking, and child pornography. Police confiscated his private jet and other property.[15] At a July 27 2006 hearing, the judge threw out 200 hours of videotape and hundreds of other key pieces of evidence in the case,[16] and on January 4, 2007 dismissed almost all of the charges, ruling that "the evidence did not support the allegations," and the seized assets were returned.[17]

On April 12, 2007, Francis was accused of bribery, possession of a controlled substance, and introducing contraband (cash and drugs) into the Panama City, Florida jail. The Associated Press reported that Francis (in jail for contempt of court) offered a guard one hundred and then five hundred dollars for a bottled water. Jailers allegedly found drugs including Lunesta and lorazepam in the jail cell. Francis reportedly faced up to five years in prison if convicted on these charges.[18][19]. A psychiatrist hired by Francis' defense team stated in his report that Francis demonstrated "significant psychiatric issues" and did "express a potential for suicidal activity if his incarceration is prolonged."[20] On March 12 2008 Francis was convicted on child abuse and prostitution charges after pleading no contest in a plea bargain. He also pleaded guilty to charges related to having contraband in his cell during the time he was held in jail. He was sentenced to time served (339 days) and more than $60,000 in fines and costs.[21]

On March 25, 2008, four women filed suit against him in Florida for filming them while underage, with one girl claiming she had been 13 when filmed.[22]

Wynn Resorts Ltd.

Francis is being sued by the Wynn Las Vegas casino for $2 million in gambling debt from February 2007. The lawsuit was filed on June 27, 2008 in Clark County District Court. A spokesperson for the casino claims that the debt has been in their collections department and the suit is a last resort to obtain the debt plus costs. In response to the lawsuit, Francis asserted that he had already paid his debt through agreements with the hotel including certain discounts. Francis claims that he was deceived by the hotel and its Chief Executive Steve Wynn. [23]

Federal criminal tax problems

On April 11, 2007, Francis was indicted by a federal grand jury in Reno, Nevada on two counts of tax evasion[24][25] under 26 U.S.C. § 7201.[26]

Francis is charged with filing a fraudulent corporate tax return for a company for which he allegedly is the sole shareholder. The United States Department of Justice asserts that Francis claimed over $20 million in false business deductions on his corporate tax returns during 2002 and 2003. [27] The Los Angeles Times quoted his attorney, Jan L. Handzlik, as saying: "The government has chosen to make a criminal case out of what we believe to be, at most, a civil tax dispute..."[24] A trial date was set and subsequently vacated in the case.[28][29].

At a hearing on July 21, 2008, Francis pleaded not guilty to felony tax evasion. Francis' attorney, Robert Bernhoft, said that tax returns for the businesses were prepared and filed by a former corporate accountant without being shown to Francis. When the accountant left the companies, he contacted the IRS to report the accounting mistakes with the hope of collecting a bonus from the government Tax Whistleblower Program. His new trial date is set for March 31, 2009 in Los Angeles.[30]

On February 2, 2009, Francis was arrested for failing to attend his court hearing. The following day, he was released to home detention and electronic monitoring on the grounds that he was too sick to attend the hearing.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Joe Francis's IMDB page". Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  2. ^ a b "Meet Joe Francis - My Story- Page 1". Cite error: The named reference "Meet Joe" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Hoffman, Claire (2006-08-06). "'Baby, Give Me a Kiss'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  4. ^ Kenney, Kris (2004-12-03). "Joe Francis one WILD UNCENSORED!". The Miami Hurricane. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  5. ^ "Sellers of 'Girls Gone Wild' Videos to Pay $1.1 Million to Settle Charges of Unauthorized Shipping and Billing". 2004-07-30. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  6. ^ Associated Press, By: Melissa Nelson, December 13, 2006 $1.6M fine is "less than 3 percent of Mantra's profits since 2002 and only 12 percent of Mantra's 2005 profits"
  7. ^ USA Today, 25 Trends That Changed America, 2007-03-27
  8. ^ a b Claire Hoffman (2006-08-06). "Joe Francis: 'Baby, give me a kiss'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  9. ^ Levy, Ariel (2005). Female Chauvinist Pigs (Amazon.com). New York: Free Press. ISBN: 9780743284288.
  10. ^ Rolling Stone, Wild Thing, By Vanessa Grigoriadis, 05-22-2002
  11. ^ ibid.
  12. ^ "Student settles with 'Girls Gone Wild' producers". CNN. 2002-10-04. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  13. ^ David Angier (2007-06-12). "Joe Francis faces new lawsuit". Panama City News Herald. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  14. ^ Lia Haberman (2007-10-15). "The Hum: Joe Francis Off the Hook". E! Online. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  15. ^ "The Smoking Gun". 2003-04-04. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  16. ^ "Girls Gone Wild Catches Break". Emerald Coast. 2006-07-27. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  17. ^ Associated Press, January 5, 2007"Judge Drops Most Charges Against 'Girls Gone Wild' Producer Joe Francis"
  18. ^ "Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis hit with new charges". New York Daily News. 2007-04-13. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ Joe Francis Gone Suicidal? - May 14, 2007
  21. ^ Associated Press (2008-03-13). "'Girls Gone Wild's' Francis pleads no contest to child abuse, prostitution charges". Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  22. ^ FOXNews.com - 4 Women Sue 'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis for Underage Filming - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment
  23. ^ Garcia, Oskar (2008-07-01). ""Las Vegas casino sues 'Girls Gone Wild' founder"". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  24. ^ a b Richard Verrier (2007-04-12). "Tax evasion charges add to Francis' legal woes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  25. ^ "'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis Indicted on Tax Charges". Fox News. 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  26. ^ Indictment, docket entry 1, April 11, 2007, United States v. Joseph R. Francis, United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Reno Division; case no. 3:07-cr-00026-BES-RAM-ALL.
  27. ^ #237: 04-11-07 CREATOR OF GIRLS GONE WILD INDICTED FOR TAX EVASION
  28. ^ The News Herald, Panama City, Fla Francis to Seek Removal From Lawsuit, Saturday, 24 May 2008, By David Angier
  29. ^ Order to Continue, docket entry 45, September 7, 2007, United States v. Joseph R. Francis, United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Reno Division; case no. 3:07-cr-00026-BES-RAM-ALL.
  30. ^ [2]
  31. ^ "Joe Francis ordered released from custody". Yahoo. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
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