Celebrity Justice
Joe Says CPA is an R-A-T

Joe Francis just slapped the CPA who ratted him out to the Feds with a lawsuit -- and you gotta read this one. It's like Shakespeare Gone Wild!

In a suit that reads like a novel, Francis says unbeknownst to him, his shady ex-accountant Michael Barrett ran an illegal offshore gambling ring in Costa Rica before his "GGW" gig. And he nails him for mishandling the "GGW" books, for failing to warn him of tax issues, and -- this is our favorite -- a breach of the CPA's "duty of loyalty." He also claims the accountant desperately wanted to cash in on a $10 mil reward from the IRS, even though Barrett was the one responsible for preparing, filing and signing the returns. The nerve!

Barrett couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Joe's looking for unspecified damages.





Reader Comments

(Page 1 of 1)

1. Is an R-A-T? Joe is a scuzzbucket...

Posted at 1:22PM on Jul 28th 2008 by Kelli

2. It was up to Joe to be sure he was hiring reputable accountant.

Posted at 1:22PM on Jul 28th 2008 by Joe=slime ball

3. What a loser!!!

Posted at 1:30PM on Jul 28th 2008 by lmk1979

4. It will ALL catch up with him, eventually! Joe Francis needs his butt thrown in prison with the key being lost forever. He is such a waste of sperm!

Posted at 1:32PM on Jul 28th 2008 by Dallas

5. HATERS! bunch of jealous haters! no one deserves that kind of treachery especially a self made man that came up with such a glorious idea GET EM JOE!!!

Posted at 1:42PM on Jul 28th 2008 by giggleygoo

6. Rule 1 of owning your business. YOU have the ultimate responsibility of EVERYTHING. Not paying attention to the work of the people you hire is just plain stupidity. YOU are responsible for your taxes. You have to sign them. IS this guy really this stupid?? What an idiot.

Posted at 2:04PM on Jul 28th 2008 by Mark

7. it's totally unfair! joe gets all the flack and it's always people around him trying to take him down keep your head up brother everything is finally coming out!!!

Posted at 1:49PM on Jul 28th 2008 by yummy

8. This guy is convincing 18-22 year old nubile white girls to take off their clothes, kiss each other and have lesbian sex on film. Then he sells these CD's for an outrageous sum of money. And now he's angry the the Federal Government and everyone else is after him. To the Federal Government this is tantamount to him promoting interracial sex. What an idiot.

Posted at 2:16PM on Jul 28th 2008 by pncmsing

9. i cant believe this guy coming in a position of trust and orchestrating this grandiose scheme to pin on joe francis -- sounds like a giant conspiracy around this guy

Posted at 2:18PM on Jul 28th 2008 by lastisfirst

10. LOL who knew filming stupid drunk sluts for 10 years would lead to so much money, and sooooo many law suits.

Posted at 3:04PM on Jul 28th 2008 by i hate hollywood

11. Hey, TMZ: It's "a rat..." not "an rat..."

Posted at 4:12PM on Jul 28th 2008 by willy

12.
What a schmuck!

Posted at 4:27PM on Jul 28th 2008 by sam

13. ATTN: TMZ.....you really need to study up on your grammer/spelling...you people are not that smart!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted at 12:24PM on Jul 29th 2008 by audra

14. Regardless of whether you like Joe Francis or not, nobody deserves to have that type of scam played on you. I too dispise "Girls Gone Wild" founder, but that does not mean it's ok for people to set you up and steal you blind. The laws are the same for all, not just for the ones we like.

Posted at 6:23PM on Jul 28th 2008 by meandmyvoices

15. Why can't these people who make headlines for other people, that in their own words " that don't deserve it", learn how to spell? I guess when you spend so much time making a big deal about people who are only famous for being famous, not because of any talent from acting or musicianship, things like that can happen. My bad. I guess I will now wait to see which "no talent ass clown" is going to go to the store for a cup of coffee or the dry cleaner.

Posted at 7:25PM on Jul 28th 2008 by john gadd