Girls Gone Wild Founder Faces 10 Years In Jail Tax Evasion

Joe Francis, the "Girls Gone Wild" founder, was indicted today on federal tax evasion charges for illegally deducting more than $20 million in phony business expenses from his 2002 and 2003 corporate tax returns.

According to a two count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Reno, Nevada, Francis, 34, sought to conceal income through the use of offshore companies and nominees.

At one point, he transferred $15 million from one offshore bank account to a California brokerage account in the name of a Cayman Islands corporation he controlled.

Joe Francis, who is pictured in the mug shot at right. If convicted of the federal charges, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.

Francis was arrested yesterday on an unrelated federal warrant stemming from a civil lawsuit brought against him by seven underage women who were filmed by "Girls Gone Wild" cameramen in Florida in 2003. The contempt citation was issued after Francis rebuffed a judge's order to settle the case with the aid of a mediator.

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