PENSACOLA, Fla. [Fox News]— “Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis is in federal custody in Florida Tuesday after surrendering to marshals in Panama City on contempt of court charges, the sheriff’s office said. He was later booked into the jail.

A spokesman for Francis said his lawyers are working toward a settlement.

Francis, 34, makes almost $30 million a year through the videos of girls baring their breasts and in other sexually provocative situations.

U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak ordered Francis into custody after settlement negotiations soured in a lawsuit brought by seven women who were minors when Francis’ company filmed them on Panama City Beach.

Francis drew the contempt order Wednesday after lawyers for the women said Francis threatened them during negotiations. But Francis defied the judge, calling him a “judge gone wild” and refusing to surrender to U.S. marshals.

Francis told The Associated Press late Thursday that Smoak “had lost his mind.”

“This judge has gone as far as to call me the devil and an evildoer,” he said. “It is a case of a judge gone wild.”

An appeals court has denied an emergency motion from Francis asking that he be allowed to remain free pending an appeal of the order.