April 14, 2007 | Sex & Society

More woes for "Girls Gone Wild" founder

"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis has not had his best week.  On Tuesday he was arrested and thrown in a Florida jail on a contempt of court charge. He had been held in custody for only a day when a Nevada federal grand jury indicted him on  tax evasion charges. To top off the week, he found himself in more hot water for attempting to bribe a jail guard and for  possessing contraband prescription drugs and cash. 

The week's fun began during a civil lawsuit that had been filed against him by six  underage women who it turns out were not not very wild at all about being filmed topless on a Panama City beach in 2003. When negotiations in the case broke down and Francis refused to surrender, the judge issued the contempt of court warrant and had him thrown in jail.

The beleaguered soft-core king had been incarcerated for only a day when he was ordered to appear May 22 in Reno federal court on tax evasion charges. The Nevada indictment alleges that in 2002 and 2003 he claimed almost $5 million to build a private house in Punta Mita, Mexico and used fake insurance policies and offshore accounts to hide another $15 million.

On Friday, Francis is alleged to have offered a jail guard $100 for a bottle of water, and when the guard refused he showed him $500.  Authorities then searched his cell and discovered a stash of  sleeping pills. Charges of bribery and possessing controlled substances behind bars could add years to a prison term.

Last December Francis was fined $1.6 million and levied a community service sentence for filming the underage Panama City girls, seen by some as a mere slap on the wrist, but opening the way for the civil suit. The timing of the tax evasion charges seems somewhat more than coincidental. We can just picture some federal prosecutor's delight in discovering that there's more than one way to skin a cat -- or to at least to wipe that irritating Cheshire cat smile off Joe Francis's face. No wonder this guy is having trouble sleeping nights!

• More bad news for Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis [GlossLip]
• Girls Gone Wild producer could face up to ten years [RGJ.com]