'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis Indicted Over Millions Of Dollars In Gambling Debt

"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis is in hot water again, but this time it's not for exploiting underage women or even tax evasion. According to the Associated Press, a Las Vegas grand jury indicted the king of naked spring-breakers on gambling debt charges.

Francis allegedly owes millions--$2.5 million, to be exact--to Vegas's swanky Wynn Casino, as the AP reports:

Francis is accused of signing gambling markers, essentially IOUs, at the Wynn Las Vegas casino in February 2007 without being able to repay.

Francis has said he already paid the debt through prior arrangements and accused casino officials of reneging on agreed discounts.

Francis told TMZ, who obtained an exclusive copy of the indictment, that he wasn't worried:

"I'm 100% confident that I will prevail, just like I always do. Steve Wynn has enormous influence over the politicians in the Las Vegas area ... so I'm sure he's behind this."

Francis adds, "The moral of the story is don't gamble at the Wynn casinos or this could happen to you."

He could face up to four years in jail if convicted.

Comments

[Barbara Graham]

12:07 PM on 02/04/2011

LOL...this guy was able to tap into almost free money, based on the premise that
1. Drunk coeds will do stuff
2. Men will pay money for videos of drunk coeds doing stuff.

He shoulda left it at that instead of taking up gambling as a hobby. So he's smart, but not THAT smart!

[CessnaDriverI72]

04:40 PM on 02/03/2011

This is how the casinos work the gambling-debt laws:

When you sign for money in a casino, you are not signing a marker, you are signing a counter check.

If you don't have the funds, it's the same as bouncing a check-a criminal act.

There is a scene in "Indecent Proposal" where the Robert Redford character signs a "marker"-if you look closer, it's a counter check with the name of a Beverly Hills bank on it.

[Hvartski]

03:59 PM on 02/03/2011

He was expecting a $2.5MM discount? That's a high roller. The good news for Francis is that Wynn is resorting to the legal system. In the old days he would have been included in "Boys Gone Piled."

[SILVANUS]

02:50 PM on 02/03/2011

Such a model human being this dude. What a cliche of "success"... pitiful

[northstar11]

02:36 PM on 02/03/2011

"""""Francis is accused of signing gambling markers, essentially IOUs, at the Wynn Las Vegas casino in February 2007 without being able to repay. """"

that makes him a small time AIG

[2warsoffbooks]

04:50 PM on 02/03/2011

Not even close, Its so tiny compared to AIG.

[blukazoo]

02:35 PM on 02/03/2011

It sounds like the old saying "a sleazeball and his money are soon parted..."

[repugnicansfearme]

02:28 PM on 02/03/2011

What goes around comes around. Bet the guys in the joint have their cameras ready.

[2warsoffbooks]

02:11 PM on 02/03/2011

As unsavory as the defendant is, there are still disturbing questions to be answered.

Why is the government charging a crime in a civil debt?

Is there a debtors prison in Nevada?

Shouldn't the Casinos have to pay for their own collection process?

Do prosecutors select cases based on getting an easy win against an unsympathetic defendant?

If it can happen to him, can it happen to you?

[CessnaDriverI72]

02:25 PM on 02/03/2011

CSI did a episode on this a few weeks back.

Yes, you can go to jail in Nevada over gambling debts.

OJ Simpson told grown men who were professional criminals not to leave a hotel room, and he's in prison after being convicted of a crime that is tantamount to kidnapping the Lindbergh Baby.

This facts can help answer your questions.

[Janeque]

03:45 PM on 02/03/2011

He wrote a hot check to pay part of the debt. That's criminal fraud.

[twigtrigtrack]

02:04 PM on 02/03/2011

Well prison should be fffffun...hope he's learned some good stripping moves

[2warsoffbooks]

05:09 PM on 02/03/2011

Good concept of justice!

[Elise 26]

02:00 PM on 02/03/2011

I detest this man.

[GraphicMatt]

01:50 PM on 02/03/2011

So on top of exploiting drunk college girls he's also a degenerate gambler. Keep it classy Joe.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

01:40 PM on 02/03/2011

Accused of reneging?

It's not commonly known, but casinos sometimes allow celebrities to show up and happily gamble with house chips, like wooden-duck-decoys or shills, to encourage other people to lose real money.

He may know this.

But, he's not that kind of celeberty.

[CessnaDriverI72]

02:29 PM on 02/03/2011

He's arguing that he is.

If you were a young rich guy who liked to party, who would you rather hang with: Francis or Donnie Osmond?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

03:39 PM on 02/03/2011

Seriously, unless someone read a news story like this, does anyone even know who this Francis is? Would he have to wear a name tag? Would anyone recognize his face?

[think-it-over]

09:25 PM on 02/03/2011

It depends. Is Marie single again?

[Passenger57]

01:12 PM on 02/03/2011

Pay your bills, you rich so-and-so!

[AveragePatriot]

01:10 PM on 02/03/2011

And he says that GIRLS go wild....