Joe Francis
Francis at his 33rd birthday party at Magic Mountain
Born	Joseph R. Francis April 1, 1973 (1973-04-01) (age 36)
Occupation	Owner of Mantra Films Inc

Joseph R. "Joe" Francis (born April 1, 1973)^[1] is an American entrepreneur known as the founder of Mantra Films, Inc., which produces the Girls Gone Wild and Guys Gone Wild DVD series.

On November 6, 2009 he was sentenced to time served and a year of probation in a case in which he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts for filing false income tax returns and bribing jail workers. He was also ordered to pay nearly $250,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.^[2]

[edit] Early life and education

Francis grew up in Laguna Beach, California.^[3] His parents were Raymond and Maria Francis^[4] and he has three sisters: Babette Francis, two years older; Caroline Francis, a year and a half younger; and Christina Francis, 10 years younger.^[4] 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.^[5]

[edit] 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 commercials, 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.^[6] 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][7] 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".^[8]

[edit] Controversies

Claire Hoffman reported in an article in the Los Angeles Times that Francis had pinned her against a car and twisted her arm when he was reenacting an incident he had with police in Panama City. Police had to separate Francis from Hoffman.^[9]

Other controversies include 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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 first videotaped, lying on a bed with his shirt off and a vibrating dildo at the crest of buttocks, repeating "My name is Joe Francis, I'm from Boys Gone Wild and I like it in the ass." The assailant later attempted to extort $500,000 from Francis and he received a 10-year sentence. ^[11][12]

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.^[13][14]

Early in the morning on Aug. 28th outside L.A. nightclub Guys & Dolls, Joe Francis was involved in an altercation with Jayde Nicole. According to Los Angeles County District Attorney documents, Jayde Nicole "appears to have acted without immediate provocation in her assault" against Joe Francis. According to the District Attorney, Jayde "appears to have poured a drink onto the neck/back of an acquaintance, Suspect/Victim Francis". Joe Francis then "responded by grabbing Suspect/Victim Gelette's hair from the back and pulling her down. Patrons/Personnel at the nightclub assisted in breaking up the altercation and escorted Suspect/Victim Francis away from the bar area. Suspect Jenner then reportedly assaulted Suspect/Victim Francis, striking him once in the head." The District Attorney has dropped all charges in the interest of justice.^[15]

[edit] 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.^[16]

In June 2007, Francis and Mantra Films became the subject of another lawsuit claiming that images had been used without the subject's permission.^[17] 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 2008, dropped the suit after Francis released footage showing her agreeing to be filmed.^[18]

[edit] 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.^[19] 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,^[20] 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.^[21]

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.^[22][23]. 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."^[24] 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.^[25]

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.^[26]

[edit] 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.^[27] Francis attended a deposition in connection with the lawsuit and tried to take the fifth amendment with respect to almost all questions asked, including whether or not he owned a cell phone. During the deposition Francis repeatedly took out his cell phone and appeared to answer emails, and at one point took a call. Steve Wynn's attorneys reported that Francis repeatedly passed gas during the deposition. “As the court will see from reviewing the video clips of Francis’ deposition, his utter contempt for the judicial system is apparent, including his repeated attempts to disrupt the deposition with flatulence,” the lawyers wrote. Ultimately, the judge in the case ruled that Francis was liable for the entire $2 million, calling Francis’ conduct “the most ridiculous exercise of the Fifth Amendment I think I’ve ever seen.” Francis is expected to appeal the judge's ruling.^[28]

[edit] 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^[29][30] under 26 U.S.C. § 7201.^[31]

Francis was 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.^[32] 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..."^[29] A trial date was set and subsequently vacated in the case.^[33][34]

On April 22, 2008, a court order was entered changing the location of the case (a change of venue) to Los Angeles, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, as case number 2:08-cr-00494-SJO.^[35] 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. Bernhoft asserts that when the accountant left the companies, the accountant contacted the IRS to report the accounting mistakes with the hope of collecting a bonus from the government Tax Whistleblower Program.^[36]

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.^[37]

In September 2009, Francis pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns and bribing Nevada jail workers. The plea agreement reportedly requires him to pay $250,000 in restitution. He would receive credit for the time he has served in jail, and would be subject to one year of supervised release.^[38] On November 5, 2009, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero accepted Francis’ deal on the grounds that a key witness withheld information from prosecutors.

“It took us seven months, but in the end we demonstrated that the felony tax charges never should have been brought in the first place. As a result, the indictment was dismissed and the charges were reduced to only two misdemeanors with no jail time." Brad Brian, lead trial attorney, ^[39]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mantra Films, Inc.
• Joe Francis at the Internet Movie Database
• "'Girls Gone Wild' founder Joe Francis on life in jail", transcript of Fox News's On the Record interview with Greta Van Susteren, October 19, 2007