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Girls Gone Wild Founder To File Bankruptcy, Blames IRS

Kelly Phillips ErbNovember 18, 2009

And here I thought my days of reporting on Joe Francis were over…

It turns out that the Girls Gone Wild founder hasn’t quite put his tax woes behind him. After taking a deal to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns – and escaping additional jail time in the process – Francis has found himself in the hot seat again.

If you believe TMZ, the IRS has liened Francis for nearly $34 million. To clarify, the IRS claims that Francis owes tens of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes. The breakdown is as follows: $17.7 million in 2001, $11.2 million in 2002 and $4.9 million in 2003. I’m not sure how much the penalties are since I haven’t seen the actual liens but those numbers put his net income somewhere close to $100 million for those three years.

I know, I know. Here I’ve blogging tax all this time when clearly, I should be producing porn.

On the plus side, though, I haven’t had to advise TMZ that my accounts have been frozen by the IRS to the tune of $100 million (no, those numbers don’t quite make sense – just reporting as I hear it). Francis has also allegedly reported that he will file for personal bankruptcy on tomorrow.

I’m not sure how this will affect Francis’ plea deal which requires him to resolve his outstanding tax issues. I mean, it is a resolution – but I’m guessing not so much what IRS had in mind. We’ll see.

(Editor’s note: I have since seen a copy of the liens as filed with LA County. As of 11/06/2009, the liens totaled $33,819,088.14)

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Kelly Phillips Erb
Kelly Phillips Erb is a tax attorney, tax writer, and podcaster.
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5 thoughts on “Girls Gone Wild Founder To File Bankruptcy, Blames IRS”

  1. Wayne Phillips says:
    November 19, 2009 at 11:08 am

    I don’t waste time with celebrity and stars, I leave that to folks who either have too much on their hands, or need a life doing something.
    This guy is an example of the greed and mistaken belief that they are the center of the universe. Sock it to him, IRS.
    Bravo to Justice for getting Madoff.
    Now if someone will make a believer of Congress and other public officials to do their job only, not to be greedy and contentious. term limits would help reduce the temptation for some. Others need to be ‘found out’ and removed from the public trust.

    Reply
  2. CN says:
    November 19, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    TG – That’s the funniest picture of him I’ve seen yet.

    @WP If this is true: “I don’t waste time with celebrity and stars, I leave that to folks who either have too much on their hands, or need a life doing something.”

    Why are you commenting on this thread?

    Reply
  3. Kelly says:
    November 19, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    CN – WP gets a pass. He’s my dad!

    Reply
  4. CN says:
    November 19, 2009 at 5:07 pm

    Now I’m embarrassed. 🙂 Sorry, Dad.

    Reply
  5. JJ says:
    November 19, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    Well… from a non tax-pro viewpoint I immediately thought that talking about taxes and who is getting “it” IS essentially “tax” porn (in a strange way), right? From a twisted reader?

    Reply

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