A federal judge has granted Joe Francis’ motion to be allowed to star on Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” while awaiting his trial for tax evasion. There’s just one teensy problem… he’s not going to be on “Celebrity Apprentice.”
Francis’ lawyers had made the request some time ago. Since then, Francis has changed his mind about the show and is instead pursuing other opportunities with The Donald. Francis will have to file another motion in order to pursue this as yet unreported opportunity. That motion may have to wait – Francis’ attorneys are already asking the judge to delay his tax evasion trial which is scheduled for October.
So fans of “Celebrity Apprentice” can count Francis out for now. Aw c’mon, they were stretching the idea of “celebrity” here anyway, weren’t they?
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tax evasion, Girls Gone Wild, Joe Francis, Donald Trump
Joe Francis has spent his life duping young girls into flashing their breasts in front of a camera. Now, he’s claiming that he’s the one that’s been duped.
As previously reported, Francis is facing a trial in September on federal charges, including tax evasion. The fed allege that Francis claimed over $20 million in phony business expenses on his corporate tax returns for 2002 and 2003. He is also accused of shifting assets overseas in an effort to avoid taxation. Francis faces up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if found guilty.
Jail would, of course, not be new to Francis who recently served 11 months in jail on charges arising from complaints that he filmed naked underage girls. He subsequently pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges while in prison for possession of Aprozolam, Lorazapam, sleeping pills and cash.
Francis plans to argue that he is the victim of an accountant with an agenda. He claims that his accountant set him up by preparing returns without his knowledge and then turning him into the IRS under the whistleblower program.
It sounds like a crazy defense – but I could be wrong. I missed the boat on the Wesley Snipes trial since I was sure that Snipes would be found guilty on more charges; Snipes was acquitted of the most serious charges. Apparently, Francis has been reading up on his tax trials, since he retained the same firm, Bernhoft Law, to represent him as Snipes used.
Francis has fired back at the accountant, Michael Barrett, by filing a lawsuit against him for unspecified damages. Francis claims that Barrett hoped to gain at least $10 million for his part in turning Francis into the IRS.
And there’s more… This week, Francis announced that he was filing a lawsuit in Florida to rescind his no contest settlement in Florida. He is also suing in Florida for alleged civil rights abuses during his stint in Florida jail; he is seeking $300 million in compensation.
Francis, of course, has been the target of many lawsuits himself. He has been sued by several girls, claiming that they were tricked into appearing on his “Girls Gone Wild” movies – including Ashley Dupre, the call girl involved in former New York Governor Spitzer’s escort scandal (Dupre later dropped her suit). Casino giant Steve Wynn has filed suit against Francis to collect on a $2 million gambling debt; Francis alleges that he was tricked into gambling after Wynn provided prostitutes.
(So much trickery!)
Francis alleges that the feds and others are simply targeting him in an effort to shut down his business. He told reporters:
I’m not selling Bibles, you know. At the end of the day, I’m selling naked girls. People want to buy naked girls.
Nice.
But he has at least a handful of B list (C list?) celebs rallying to his side… the Kardashian family, who will still be photographed with family is best known for daughter Kim’s large, um, assets, and a sex tape. Yeah, that’s the kind of solid “backing” Francis needs. And Francis’ profile will get a boost this fall when he reportedly appears in Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice.” The Donald said about Francis:
He’s a smart guy. He’s a brilliant marketer. A lot of people don’t like what he markets, but that’s a different subject.
Filming underaged girls? Taking drugs in jail? Not checking out his multi-million dollar tax returns?
I dunno. He doesn’t sound terribly smart to me.
