Judge Calls for Arrest of Girls Gone Wild Founder Joe Francis

A federal judge is calling for the arrest of Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis.

On Tuesday, Judge Fernando M. Olguin of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Francis for failing to turn over two luxury cars to lawyers who sold the Girls Gone Wild name out of bankruptcy last year.

Mr. Francis has previously said that he can’t return the vehicles, a 2007 Cadillac Escalade and a 2012 Bentley Flying Spur, because a strip-club owner in Mexico—angry that several Girls Gone Wild promotions fell through—took them, according to court papers.

Mr. Francis’s bankruptcy lawyer declined to comment on the arrest warrant.

Mr. Francis is believed to be living near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with girlfriend Abbey Wilson, who gave birth to the couple’s twins, Alexandria Claire Francis and Athena Olivia Francis, in October 2014.

The U.S. has long had an extradition agreement with Mexico that has enabled people who are wanted by U.S. authorities to be captured and returned. It’s unclear how long that process can take.

Judge Olguin is the second federal judge to determine that Mr. Francis should be arrested. In August, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Sandra Klein recommended jail time for Mr. Francis. Historically, bankruptcy judges have had the confidence to throw people in jail themselves, but a controversial ruling that involved former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith has led some bankruptcy judges to turn to district-court judges for help deciding certain disputes.

Judge Klein also ruled that Mr. Francis should pay $5,000 a day until he complies with her ruling. By Bankruptcy Beat’s math, Mr. Francis could owe at least $1.3 million in fines.

The Girls Gone Wild brand, whose low-budget, late night commercials advertised topless coeds on spring break, was sold to new owners last year. The brand went up for sale after the business’s operations filed for chapter 11 protection in February 2013. At the time, the maneuver was meant to block Las Vegas entertainment kingpin Steve Wynn and his resort company from taking the companies’ assets as repayment for Mr. Francis’s gambling bill and other debts, which had climbed to more than $30 million.

Write to Katy Stech at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatyStech