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(Business Wire)
Come on, show us your assets!
“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis has put his video empire into bankruptcy in a bid to wiggle out of some $16 million in debt — most of it owed to casino magnate Steve Wynn.
Wynn’s camp claims Francis owes closer to $30 million, including $2 million for unpaid gambling debts and $7.5 million in defamation damages.
Wynn first hauled Francis to court to get him to pay the $2 million debt he racked up during a 2007 gambling binge.
He sued again for defamation after Francis blabbed to gossip site TMZ that Wynn threatened to kill him and bury him in the desert.
Wynn won two defamation awards for $7.5 million and $20 million, although the latter wasn’t listed in the Chapter 11 filing.
Michael Weaver, a spokesman for Wynn Las Vegas, said the judgments are against Francis “personally” and not the company.
“Consequently, these recent bankruptcy filings by the GGW companies will not slow our efforts to collect on our judgments against Mr. Francis,” he said.
Francis, 39, made millions from enticing young women to bare their breasts for his cameras. He has had numerous brushes with the law while building his smut empire and spent a year in the clink for filming underage girls.
GGW Brands listed less than $50,000 in assets, according to the filing in Santa Monica, Calif., bankruptcy court.
Aside from Wynn, the company owes $5.7 million to Tamara Favazza, who sued for her unwilling participation in a GGW flick, “Sorority Girl Orgy 2.” In her suit, Favazza said a GGW employee lifted her shirt without her permission while she was dancing.
GGW said it is “strong financially” and that it only filed for bankruptcy to “restructure its frivolous and burdensome legal affairs.”
“Just like American Airlines and General Motors, it will be business as usual for Girls Gone Wild,” according to a statement.