RENO, Nev. — A federal judge on Friday postponed the tax evasion trial of the founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” video series, but did not rule on whether the filmmaker could be released from jail.
U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval granted a defense request to postpone Joe Francis’ tax trial until August.
He also said he would rule in the “very near future” on a revised bail proposal that defense lawyer Fred Atcheson said would end Francis’ legal limbo that has kept him in jail for nearly a year.
Francis is seeking release with the assurance that he will not be extradited to Florida, where he faces separate charges related to the filming of underage girls in 2003.
“We can’t let the tail wag the dog anymore,” Atcheson said, arguing that authorities in Florida — who have refused to consider bail — have been allowed to maneuver the federal legal proceedings in Reno.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Mark, however, argued Francis’ current bail conditions are reasonable.
“The government still believes Mr. Francis is a flight risk,” she said.
Francis has made millions selling and marketing videos of rowdy, bare-breasted woman.
In court documents and at Friday’s hearing, the defense said Francis can meet all but one bail condition set earlier by another judge — resolving a no-bail warrant out of Panama City, Fla.
Atcheson said the revised proposal — whereby the court could restrict Francis’ travel to within Nevada — would allow him to help prepare for his tax trial and “protect him from Florida.”
Francis has been jailed since last April, when a federal judge in Florida sentenced him to 35 days in jail for contempt stemming from an outburst during court-ordered mediation in a civil suit. While in jail on contempt, he was charged with having contraband — $700 and prescribed anti-anxiety medication — which prosecutors cited as cause to revoke his bond in the nearly five-year-old criminal case.
After completing his contempt sentence, Francis was extradited to Nevada to face the federal tax charges.
The government alleges, among other things, that two of Francis’ companies, Mantra Films Inc. and Sands Media Inc., claimed more than $20 million in phony deductions in 2002 and 2003, and that Francis used offshore accounts to conceal income.
If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.