Joe Francis busted AGAIN.
Yesterday I reported on Joe Francis being arrested for contempt of court. Well, it looks like he’s having a pretty rough week.
Joe Francis, founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” empire, has been indicted on charges of tax evasion, the federal government announced today.
Francis, 34, of Santa Monica, was indicted by a grand jury in Reno, Nev., the Department of Justice announced. He is charged with deducting more than $20 million in false business expenses on the 2002 and 2003 corporate income tax returns filed on behalf of his Mantra Films Inc. and Sands Media Inc.
Francis built a media empire selling video and DVDs of young women exposing themselves during alcohol-fueled celebrations.
According to the indictment, Francis is charged with using offshore bank accounts to conceal income he earned during 2002 and 2003. The indictment also alleges that Francis transferred more than $15 million from an offshore bank account to a brokerage account in Irvine, Calif., held in the name of Rothwell Limited, a Cayman Islands corporation, that Francis controlled, the government said.
If convicted, Francis faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.
