Girls Gone Wild Founder Joe Francis Accused of Bribery

Girls Gone Wild millionaire founder Joe Francis is in hot water-again. The 34-year-old entrepreneur has been charged with attempting to bribe a jail guard allowing bottled water and prescription drugs in is jail cell.

The soft porn king has been accused of trying to slip a guard first $100, then $500 to look the other way. During his most recent court appearance Francis cried and told his parents, "I didn't do anything."

Francis' has been charged with one count of bribing a public servant, three counts of possessing a controlled substance and five counts of introducing contraband into a detention facility.

Jail officials claims Francis was in procession of anxiety meds in his possession(Aprazolam and Lorazepam) as well as the Lunesta brand sleeping pill.

Scott Barbour, the president of the company that produces Girls Gone Wild, has also been arrested by the local sheriff on suspicion of passing the pills and the money to his business associate.

Francis was jailed on Tuesday as a result contempt of court charges. U.S. marshals arrested the 34-year old entrepreneur on criminal contempt charges. Francis' attorneys have claimed that he was returning to Florida so that he could turn himself in when he was nabbed at the Panama City airport.

Francis' contempt was arrested on contempt charges U. S. District Judge Richard Smoak Francis into custody after negotiations broke down with seven women who were minors when the Girls Gone Wild crew filmed them in Panama City .

The contempt order was issued because the womens' lawyers claimed Francis threatened them during negotiations.

Francis' legal woes continued to mount when he was indicted for federal tax evasion on Wednesday.

A federal grand jury indicted Francis for supposedly using offshore bank accounts to hide his 2002 and 2003 earnings. The Girls Gone Wild series is estimated to make Francis approximately $29 million a year.

In addition to accusations that $20 millions in tax receipts were fraudulent, the federal government is alleging that Francis moved $15 million from a U. S. brokerage account to a Cayman Islands corporation for the purposes of deception.

The new charges could earn Francis up to five years in jail. Francis' tax evasion charges could mean up to 10 years in prison.

The Girls Gone Wild series is set to expand to the United Kingdom, Australia and France. Francis recently announced plans for a restaurant chain and swimwear line under the brand name.

US Today recently named Girls Gone Wile one of the "25 trends that had Changed America." Girls Gone Wild records a $100 million dollars worth of sales per year.

Francis waived his right to a bond hearing for the contempt chargers.

Sources

Www.msnbc.com, www.tmz.com, www.abcnews.go.com, www.wikipedia.com