Joe Francis Is Now Wanted, Hiding in Mexico

Warrant issued for his arrest
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 20, 2015 10:57 AM CDT
Joe Francis Is Now Wanted, Hiding in Mexico
In this Sept. 7, 2012, file photo, Joe Francis attends the House of Hype Music Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Arnold Turner/Invision/AP, File)

Joe Francis: from the kingpin of basically a softcore porn empire to an outlaw living in Mexico. An arrest warrant was issued yesterday for the Girls Gone Wild founder, the Wall Street Journal reports. Francis, who really is living south of the border, was ordered by the court to give his Cadillac Escalade and Bentley Flying Spur to the attorneys who assisted him with GGW's bankruptcy sale. Francis allegedly did not, because, he says, a Mexican strip-club owner already took the cars, angry after Girls Gone Wild's troubles caused a few planned GGW promotions at the club to fall through.

Another bankruptcy judge also previously recommended jail time for Francis, as well as ordered him to pay $5,000 per day until he complies with her ruling; WSJ estimates he could currently owe $1.3 million in fines. To bring you up to speed, GGW filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to keep casino mogul Steve Wynn from taking its assets after Francis owed him more than $30 million in gambling and slander-related debts, and Francis was ultimately forced to sell the brand, the New York Daily News adds. As for whether and when he might go to jail, it all depends on the extradition process; his lawyer tells the Hollywood Reporter she doesn't think he'll be extradited. (More Girls Gone Wild stories.)

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