PANAMA CITY, FL — Instead of backing slowly along a prison cell wall, Girls Gone Wild mastermind Joe Francis will be doing community service and writing a big check for having videotaped drunken underage girls getting… well, wild.Although the $1.6 million fine may seem steep to the average Girls Gone Wild video collector, it’s just a drop in the deep financial bucket that is the Mantra Films, Inc. empire. According to U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak, who handed down the judgment, the fine only accounts for three-percent of the profits Francis enjoyed in 2002 and 12-percent of what he raked in above costs in 2005. Because of this, Smoak felt adding community service was the best way to catch the flesh-soaked multi-millionaire’s attention. It is estimated that Francis makes $40 million a year.
This latest judicial pinprick in the Mantra Films finances is a result the Girls Gone Wild crew using two then 17-year-old girls in videos and DVDs shot during a 2003 spring break visit to Panama City Beach.
Although Francis has insisted that his crew does not intentionally film girls under the age of 18 and that the girls in question had lied about their ages, Smoak informed him that “It does not take a very brave man to go out and corner a girl in the middle of spring break who had four drinks.”
Francis’ assertions aside, Santa Monica-based Mantra Films has admitted to having violated federal record-keeping and labeling laws in 2002, when it released 83 titles and distributed 4.5 million videos and DVDs, as well as during part of 2003.
Although attorney Aaron Dyer said he didn’t know if Francis would perform all of the court ordered community service by himself, as written, Francis, his company president, general counsel, and chief financial officer are supposed to each perform eight hours of community service each month for the next 30 months. It is possible that the corporate officers could dodge the work by allowing Francis to serve 16 hours per month by himself.
In addition to the fines and community service, Smoak made 33-year-old Francis read aloud a victim impact statement written by one of the girls, who explained that her experience had left her tormented and damaged her relationship with her family. Mantra Films was also ordered to issue a press release concerning its federal offenses and publish it in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and The News herald of Panama City.
Still pending is a January 22nd sentencing hearing in Los Angeles federal court on similar charges, for which Francis has agreed to pay $500,000 in fines. He also must face remaining state felony charges of using children in sexual performances in the Panama City footage. Most of the charges against him were dropped due to lack of evidence when it was revealed that searches conducted on Francis’ condominiums and private jet involved search warrants with legal problems. Defense attorneys have asked that the remaining charges be dropped during the January 3rd hearing, as well. Dyer insists that the company has made changes in how it keeps its records in order to avoid more criminal violations.
