'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Slapped With $20-Million Lawsuit Judgment
by Sean Comer
A Los Angeles County jury Monday afternoon found against Joe Francis in a slander lawsuit filed against him by Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn. Francis nows Wynn $20 million after claiming Wynn wanted him dead, E! Online reports.
Wynn's suit actually began in 2010, when he claims Francis claimed that Wynn wanted him killed and buried in the desert over a gambling debt. During his own testimony, Wynn called that claim a "terrible lie," according to The Los Angeles Times.
"He's unrepentant, vicious and out of control," Wynn said. He feels that Francis' claim risked damaging the casino owner's good name both personally and professionally. Thus far, Wynn has already racked up $9.5 million from two previous defamation civil judgments against Francis. Francis' issues with Wynn began in 2008, when Francis racked up a reported $2-million in gambling losses.
Legendary music producer Quincy Jones was a star witness for the plaintiff. A friend of Wynn's and neighbor of Francis', Jones testified that Wynn never actually threatened the softcore porn purveyor. "If you lose the money, you pay the money," Jones testfied Wynn had told Francis.
Neither Wynn nor Francis was in the courtroom for the verdict.
Francis' struggles to stay on the right side of the law have historically been as ample as some of his "Girls" endowments. In 2007, he was slapped with an easily-beaten suit by a girl who claimed her image was used without her permission. That disputed lasted roughly until Francis produced video of the young woman consenting to appearing on camera.
In 2008, Francis represented himself and astonishingly won an eight-day Florida trial with an all-female jury, in which four women claimed that Francis filmed them while they were all underage.
Francis sued over Panama City Beach, Fla. officials trying to shut down his filming, and eventually got officials to settle with him after he claimed they violated his First Amendment rights. The same officials then had him arrested on a total 71 various charges with bond set at $165,000 - most of which were later thrown out, with Francis copping to a record-keeping charge and sentenced to a $1.65-million fine and community service.
In 2009, he was let off tax evasion charges with one year of probation, $250,000 in restitution and credit for time served.