Complain about a product or service

'Girls Gone Wild' Producer Finishes Jail Term

Joe Francis gets sprung just in time for Spring Break

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 13, 2008

Girls Gone Wild • GGW Producer Indicted • "Girls Gone Wild" Producer Fined $1.6 Million • Girls Gone Wild Fined $2 Million Fine for Sexually Exploiting Children • Girls Gone Wild Still Going Wild • Judge OKs Class Action Against Girls Gone Wild • Feds charge GGW producers • Consumer complaints • Best Buy cashes in • GGW producer arrested

Joe Francis, creator of the pornographic “Girls Gone Wild” videos entered a plea agreement with a Florida court yesterday, ending an 11-month stint in jail -- just in time for spring break.

The hearing in the Bay County state court resolved what was at one time a 73-count indictment, handed down in 2003. Francis, 34, pleaded no contest to one count of felony child abuse, two counts of misdemeanor prostitution and two additional child abuse counts on behalf of his company, Mantra Films.

The Florida courts accused Francis of filming underage girls.

rancis said he believed the girls were 18 or over because they signed an agreement stating they were.

“I have never committed any crime. I pleaded guilty just to get out of jail,” Francis said outside the courthouse, according to the Associated Press. “A few corrupt individuals were able to keep an innocent man in jail for 11 months.”

Francis was in prison in Nevada, awaiting trial for tax fraud, but posted a $1.5 million bond this week.

Judge Deede Costello sentenced Francis to 339 days, the time he has already served in Florida and Nevada. Costello also ordered Francis to pay more than $60,000 in fines, court costs and restitution to the county.

Francis agreed to suspend filming between Escambia and Jackson Counties in Florida for the next three years.

“I'm going to go back to making videos, this afternoon,” he said yesterday.

The “Girls Gone Wild” videos feature young, usually drunk, women exposing themselves in exchange for swag. ConsumerAffairs.com has received 509 complaints from consumers as of this writing. Most say that when they ordered the videos, they were enrolled in an expensive subscription they couldn't cancel.

“I let my friend use my debit card to order one Girls Gone Wild video,” wrote Holly of Claremore, Okla. “When we realized it was a subscription service, she went online and canceled it. However, I continue to receive videos and get charged monthly. ... I am billed $26.98 every month. I am a college student and cannot afford this.”

Francis and Mantra Films have been at the center of several lawsuits including a pending class action case and a Federal Trade Commission suit in which the agency fined him $1.1 million.

Francis makes an estimated $29 million annually from Mantra Films, according to the AP.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |