RENO, NV — Poor Joe Francis. No matter how many times he stands up for himself, there’s a judge somewhere keen to make him sit the hell back down. The latest blow to the multi-millionaire Girls Gone Wild mastermind’s plans for world conquest is being denied the right to travel to this weekend’s Phoenix Forum conference in Tempe, AZ.According to the Associated Press, U.S. Magistrate Robert McQuaid has given Francis’s request to travel to the popular conference the thumbs down – in spite of the fact that Girls Gone Wild is a co-sponsor.
McQuaid, who has apparently never attended the Phoenix Forum, is quoted as having informed Francis and his attorneys that, in his opinion, “It doesn’t appear to the court that the trip has a valid business purpose.”
It’s been at least a year since Francis, who will celebrate his 35th birthday this coming Tuesday, has been able to do anything other than travel between Southern California and Reno. Most of that time has been spent in jail or moving between jails, although he was freed on bail in Nevada pending an August federal tax fraud trial.
Francis’ attorneys hope to see the trial relocated from Reno to Los Angeles.
Judge McQuaid isn’t without mercy, however, having added San Francisco to Francis’ allowable travel destinations, thus allowing him to spend face time with his tax attorneys.
Indicted along with his companies, Mantra Films, Inc., and Sands Media, Inc., in Reno by a federal grand jury last April, Francis must defend against claims that more than $20 million in phony deductions were claimed during 2002 and 2003. Additionally, Francis is accused of using offshore accounts in order to conceal is true income, all while claiming to be a resident of Nevada.
In addition to the tax charges, Francis continues to deal with the fallout of his representatives possibly hiring underage – and in at least one case, considerably underage – girls to flash and more for his Girls Gone Wild tour bus cameras. He settled five-year-old criminal charges in Panama City, FL earlier this month, after pleading no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges. Francis contends that a new Florida civil case – concerning girls who were 13, 15, 16, and 17 at the time of their saucy appearances — is being unfairly prosecuted by his courtroom nemesis, U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak, whom he has attempted to have removed from office.
