Joe Francis, CEO of the company that produces the racy Girls Gone Wild video series, is in trouble with the IRS again only weeks after a judge sentenced him to time served for tax evasion charges.
The IRS filed the lien for three years of back taxes, from 2001 to 2003, totaling $33,819,087.14. This is total retaliation for beating them in court, he told TMZ.com. He plans to file for personal bankruptcy.
Francis pleaded guilty last month to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns. After a judge approved his plea deal earlier this month, Francis agreed to pay restitution, back taxes and interest totaling $249,705, plus a fine of $10,000, and he was sentenced to time served (see
Francis has claimed that his CPA, former Mantra Films CFO Michael Barrett, conspired with two others to embezzle millions of dollars from the company and then contacted the tax authorities to cover his tracks as well as win a whistleblower award from the IRS.
