Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis' guilty plea to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns (and one count of bribing Nevada jail workers in exchange for food) was accepted on Friday by U.S. District Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles. The judge sentenced Francis to time served and one year's probation and requires him to pay $250,000 in restitution. Francis acknowledged omitting over $500,000 in interest income on his 2003 tax return. Prosecutors had alleged that Francis took more than $20 million in fraudulent deductions in 2002 and 2003.
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- Taxes Gone Wild: Joe Francis Indicted on Tax Charges (4/12/07)
- Founder of "Girls Gone Wild" Pleads Not Guilty to Tax Evasion Charges, Says "IRS Gone Wild" (7/23/08)
- "Girls Gone Wild" Founder Seeks New Counsel in Tax Evasion Case (1/28/09)
- Tax Lawyer Strikes Back at "Girls Gone Wild" Founder Joe Francis (1/30/09)
- Joe Francis to Use "Deductions Gone Wild" Defense in Tax Evasion Trial (8/27/09)
- 'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis Cops Tax Plea (9/24/09)
