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Francis Wants Teen-Exploiting Cash Back

AP
posted: 89 DAYS 1 HOUR AGO
comments: 45
filed under: Sex That's SFW, Troublemakers
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LOS ANGELES (Aug. 20) - "Girls Gone Wild" entrepreneur Joe Francis wants a California court to rescind a settlement he claims a federal judge coerced him into signing.
Francis, who created the popular video series that features young women baring their breasts, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the parents of three underage girls, aiming to vacate an agreement reached in Panama City, Fla., and get his payout returned. The girls were filmed there, and their parents subsequently sued Francis.
He agreed to settle the civil case after U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak jailed him in 2007 for contempt of court.
In Francis' suit, he accuses Smoak of siding with former law partners to jail Francis and force him to settle on terms favorable to the girls. An attorney from a law firm where Smoak was once a partner represented the girls and their parents.
Smoak declined to comment on Francis' allegations.
The judge ordered Francis jailed in 2007 after finding him in contempt of court. Attorneys for the girls said Francis yelled obscenities at them during a mediation meeting and refused to settle the case.
Francis now claims he was bulldozed into signing the settlement -by being jailed - and that it should be revoked.
The 35-year-old multimillionaire's lawsuit states he understood that he "had no choice but to enter into the settlement in order to avoid further incarceration."
Francis declined to say how much he paid, but described it as "a fortune." He had previously told The Associated Press that the girls were asking for $70 million.
Robert Barnes, one of Francis' lawyers, said the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles because that's where Francis and his company, Mantra Films Inc., are based.
Francis said his actions are intended to protect average citizens.
"This fight is way bigger than me," Francis said in an interview after a press conference announcing the lawsuit. "If this stands, this single-handedly undermines the entire civil judicial process in this country."
Francis, who earns an estimated $29 million a year from the "Girls Gone Wild" series, asked supporters on his Web site to write letters to Congress and seek Smoak's impeachment.
His defiant tone Tuesday was different from April 2007, when he pleaded guilty to the federal contempt charge, weeping openly in a Panama City courtroom and apologizing for yelling during settlement negotiations.
Francis has been a legal lightning rod. Earlier this year, he pleaded no contest to criminal charges in Panama City to a handful of felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from his 2003 arrest on suspicion of filming underage girls. Francis declared his innocence immediately afterward, saying he entered the plea to get out of jail.
He still faces federal tax evasion charges in Los Angeles and has been sued in Las Vegas for $2 million in gambling debts that Francis claims he has already settled through "prior agreements."
Associated Press Writer Melissa Nelson in Pensacola, Fla. contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-08-20 06:45:08
GQ's Men of the Year Prince ... Anti-Gay?
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Hulagan808

08:26 PMAug 27 2008

The girls he films deserve any negativity they get and then some. As for old Joe he deserves all that has happened to him and all that will. Why? Because they are stupid, successfull yes, but still stupid. What happens in a courtroom has NOTHING to do with the truth, only what a jury can be convinced to believe might be the truth and what the Judge happens to feel like on that day or the opinion he has formed during the proceedings.

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AlinaF111

12:18 PMAug 24 2008

he deserves whatever bad is coming to him, tenfold. not even gary glitter asked for money back, lol. i can't believe he makes 39 million a year off of those videos--they look so Lame!

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Daneskaggsdds

01:18 PMAug 21 2008

Hey Joe,Turn about's fair play.........how does it feel to have the shoe on the other foot and BE the one being EXPLoITED !!!!! LOL.....Cry BABY !!!

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TV9TIME

11:16 AMAug 21 2008

just for the record.......Joe does have a site for the guys too......http://guysgonewild.com......it is also owned by mantra....(joe's company)

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laurencewife1

07:46 AMAug 21 2008

these little stupid harlots should have known better to let themselves get filmed acting like dogs in heat, i guess these are some of you people daughters that you taught respect, their respect is on camera for the world to see, yeah you go girls.

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Razorbkdog

01:19 AMAug 21 2008

Here's a thought; have some 'cute girls' (this is his 'taste' right?) who .. might not be quite what they appear go .. pick the guy up. slip something akin to the date rape drug into HIS drink, then bring him somewhere .. private. I'm sure he'd be MORE than happy to strip with a group of girls he thinks are into getting together with HIM. .... Enter the photographer with some animal friends, exit the ladies. Enough said, but no animals will be hurt (or embarassed). Once some compromising photos are done, set them up all over the internet!! won't he be proud... LOLOL!!

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Czski79

01:10 AMAug 21 2008

Hey Joe..Your a *****..

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Lita Moran

12:55 AMAug 21 2008

Didn't someone break into this clown's house, make him strip, and photograph him (with his driver's license as proof of identity)? It seems it was some kind of blackmailing scheme.I was hoping a picture or two would have made it onto the Internet. After all, once it appears there, it would be out there forever--you know, matching the immortality he so generously offers to these girls.

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JARey26

12:28 AMAug 21 2008

K first of all the Girls obsioulsy knew what they were doing so how the hell is it his fault he did not exploit they chose to expose themselves on camera yes he made the mistake of not iding them first but either way those girls knew what they were getting themselvs into

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LLopez2196

12:28 AMAug 21 2008

Glbabynumsnana 11:12 PMAug 21 2008 Someone needs to put him on a show called "Boys Gone Wild" and make him flop his thingie around for entertainment purposes. Then maybe, he'd get a taste of the exploitation he perpetrates on these girls. But what is really disturbing is that there is even a market for his videos, business must be good or wouldn't still be doing it.***Except that his thingie might not be worht viewing. From some experience I have found that men who do sexploitaion stuff are usually under endowed.The only way this guy "gets off" is watching his own films.

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