"Girls Gone Wild" mogul Joe Francis is vowing to appeal a $40 million jury verdict in one of the odder defamation lawsuits in recent Hollywood history.
A federal judge issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for embattled Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis.
Judge Fernando M. Olguin is calling for Francis’ arrest for not having handed over two cars — a 2007 Cadillac Escalade and a 2012 Bentley Flying Spur — to attorneys involved in the Girls Gone Wild bankruptcy case from 2014, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Francis has previously stated that he is unable to return the luxury vehicles because they were taken by the owner of a strip club in Mexico to repay a debt.
Shawn Holley, Francis’ attorney, told The Hollywood Reporter that Francis, who currently lives in Mexico, is unlikely to be extradited in the matter.
“It does not appear that Francis is at risk of being extradited based on his outstanding arrest warrant,” Holley said in the statement, adding that the “warrant issued by [the judge] is for ‘civil contempt.’ … [Civil] contempt is not such an offense [as to merit extradition between the U.S. and Mexico].”
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Olguin’s decision follows U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Sandra Klein asking the District Court to consider issuing an arrest warrant for Francis in October 2014.
Francis has a history of legal issues, including being found guilty of imprisoning three people in his L.A.-area home in 2013. The day after he was found guilty, he told The Hollywood Reporter that the jury members involved in the case “are mentally f—ing retarded” and “should all be lined up and shot.”
Email: Ryan.Gajewski@THR.com
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski
