"GIRLS GONE WILD" Founder, Joe Francis, Sues Steve Wynn for Fraud

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Joe Francis, founder of Girls Gone Wild, has filed a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit in United States District Court in Los Angeles against Steve Wynn and the Wynn Las Vegas casino among others, seeking damages for Malicious Prosecution, Abuse of Process, Intentional Misrepresentation, Defamation, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and Conspiracy. Francis' lawsuit stems from a criminal allegation by Steve Wynn and the Wynn casino that resulted in criminal charges alleging Francis did not pay back a marker drawn in favor of Steve Wynn's casino.  Francis was 100% acquitted of any wrong doing in this case and now seeks compensation for the damages he has suffered as a result of Wynn's false allegations against him.  

On September 15, 2011, all criminal charges against Francis were dismissed by the Honorable Linda Marie Bell, District Court Judge of the 8th Judicial District Court in Clark County Nevada. When Judge Bell dismissed the criminal charges against Mr. Francis, she indicated there was not even slight or marginal evidence to believe Francis had broken any laws in the State of Nevada.

At that time, Francis promised to seek redress and use all lawful means possible to make Steve Wynn, Wynn Las Vegas, LLC and several others answer for what he alleged to be their malicious conduct in causing criminal charges to be filed against him in order to play "hard ball" in collecting a debt Francis has always claimed he did not owe.

The lawsuit has been filed by Francis' litigation counsel, well-known criminal defense attorney, David Houston and Aaron Aftergood. Houston has teamed with civil counsel Aftergood, and filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court, Central District of California.  David Houston advises, that were it known that Steve Wynn had committed the acts described in the lawsuit in order to collect a debt, in all likelihood, he would have been prosecuted criminally. Houston believes, once the truth is made known, Steve Wynn, Wynn Las Vegas, as well as several others, will be personally liable to Mr. Francis for the false allegations contained in the complaint.

Francis has always indicated he disputed the amount owed to Wynn Las Vegas. Francis says "Wynn Las Vegas has attempted to phony up documentation in order to enlist the assistance of the Clark County District Attorney's Office in prosecuting someone for a debt that is not owed, by way of threats of prison and a felony of conviction."

Documents presented in the criminal case, which Houston was successful in having the case getting thrown out, indicate Wynn Las Vegas had revived a 2.5 million dollar marker after it was clearly shown Francis had paid back a substantial portion of that marker. Despite this, Wynn Las Vegas never had Francis execute a new marker and therefore, had no way of enforcing payment criminally as it concerned the new amount owed.

It is because of this, Houston claims Wynn Las Vegas then resurrected the original voided marker of 2.5 million dollars (from 18 months prior) and submitted the original marker to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution based upon nonpayment.

Documents also reveal, when Francis took out the markers, he informed Wynn Las Vegas that he had two bank accounts wherein the marker could be presented for payment. One bank account, as per the Wynn Documentation, did not possess sufficient dollars in order to honor the 2.5 million dollar marker where as the other account did.

Wynn Las Vegas chose to hold the marker for in excess of 16 months and then present the marker to a bank account they knew to be closed and secondly, knew had less than sufficient monies to result in payment. The bank account had been closed by the bank and not Francis. For some reason, Wynn Las Vegas chose to submit the marker to the bank they knew had less than sufficient monies on deposit and further, the account had been closed through no fault of Francis.

Francis alleges in his Complaint, the reason the Wynn Las Vegas chose to do so was to create the appearance of a criminal act thereby allowing the District Attorney's Office to become involved and subsequently, indict Mr. Francis for passing a check without sufficient funds and theft.

Houston advises the documentation of the Wynn Las Vegas clearly demonstrates Mr. Francis had more than sufficient funds on hand in a separate bank account Wynn Las Vegas had listed as the primary bank account for repayment. There was absolutely no logical reason for Wynn Las Vegas to submit the check to the other bank account which they knew was closed and had insufficient funds unless, as alleged in the complaint, Wynn Las Vegas was purposefully seeking to establish what appeared to be a criminal act in order to strong-arm Mr. Francis into paying monies that were not owed.

It was only after a thorough review of all fact in this case, the District Judge in the criminal prosecution chose to dismiss all charges against Mr. Francis.  Mr. Francis advised, upon the dismissal of all charges, he would seek all legal means possible to hold Wynn Las Vegas accountable for their conduct. That process has begun today.

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SOURCE GGW Brands