Joe Francis
indicted for tax evasion
RENO, Nev., April 11 (UPI) -- "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis was indicted
by a grand jury in Nevada on tax evasion charges, the federal government
announced Wednesday.
Francis, 34, of Santa Monica, Calif., was
charged with deducting more than $20
million in false business expenses on his 2002 and 2003 corporate income
tax returns for Mantra Films Inc. and Sands Media Inc., the Los Angeles Times
reported.
He is scheduled to appear May 22 before a U.S. magistrate judge in Reno, Nev.
Francis, who built his empire selling sexually charged videos, is charged with
using offshore bank accounts to hide
income earned during those two years, the indictment said.
Francis also allegedly transferred more than $15 million from an offshore
account to a brokerage account held in the name of Rothwell Limited, a
Cayman Islands corporation
Francis controlled, the Justice Department said.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined up to
$500,000.
women
On Tuesday, Francis was arrested in Panama City, Fla., on a contempt of court
citation. The arrest followed a breakdown in talks to settle a civil lawsuit
filed by seven women alleging they were
victimized by Francis' crews during filming in Florida in 2003