LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6, 2009
"Girls Gone Wild" Founder Takes Plea Deal
A Judge Has Sentenced Joe Francis to Time Served and a Year of Probation for Filing False Income Tax Returns
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Joe Francis arrives at the JT-TV launch party in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
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U.S. District Judge S. James Otero on Friday accepted the terms of a plea deal between Francis and prosecutors.
Prosecutors struck the deal after learning on the eve of trial that a key witness had lied to them.
The soft-porn mogul who filmed and marketed videos of young women initially was accused of taking $20 million in fraudulent deductions earlier this decade.
Under the deal, Francis entered guilty pleas in September to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns and one count of bribing Nevada jail workers in exchange for food.
Otero gave Francis credit for 301 days already served in jail.
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