Girls Gone Wild

The Joe Francis sex tape has been PURCHASED by a major porn company ... but the footage will never, ever, ever, ever see the light of day, TMZ has learned.

We broke the story ... a sex tape featuring the "Girls Gone Wild" honcho and his smoking hot girlfriend was being shopped to various media outlets. Francis had threatened to sue everyone and their mother over the tape, claiming it was stolen from his GF's iPad.

But Francis can call off his legal pit bulls (for a change) ... thanks to a HUUUUGE favor from Vivid Entertainment honcho Steve Hirsch.

Turns out, the two porn moguls are friends (same porny circles) ... and when the person selling the tape went to Vivid, Steve decided to do Francis a solid and snatched it off the market (price: unknown).

Hirsch then turned around and gave all of the footage to Joe, along with the promise he'd never release the tape.

As for why the porn kings didn't involve police ... Hirsch told us, "Because of the time-sensitive nature of the situation I made a decision to expedite the process and return the movie to its original owner."

"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis is the star of a brand new hardcore sex tape ... problem is, he claims it was STOLEN from his longtime GF ... and now he's threatening legal action, TMZ has learned.

The footage -- shot several weeks ago -- features Francis getting down and dirty with his girlfriend Abbey Wilson -- who (deservedly) won the GGW "Search for the Hottest Girl in America" contest back in 2012.

We know ... the footage contains material from several sexual liaisons ... and it's currently being shopped to various media outlets.

Francis tells TMZ ... he has NOTHING to do with the tape's release -- and, ironically, he's trying desperately to stop it from going public by THREATENING the person who has it.

Joe claims the footage was ripped off of Abbey's iPad -- which was recently stolen from her bag at LAX.

Francis' lawyer, David Houston, tells TMZ, "It is not only unfortunate, but it is a crime. As such, this office will take all necessary steps to determine who in fact has done this and who is attempting to distribute the video."

Joe's attorney says they have already contacted the authorities -- and want to deliver a strong warning to whoever has the footage:

"When we catch you, we will see that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of both the criminal and civil laws."

"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis has just been found guilty of assault -- and a slew of other charges -- after attacking a woman in his Hollywood mansion back in 2011.

The L.A. City Attorney just made the announcement ... Francis was convicted on five charges total, including assault, three counts of false imprisonment, and one count of dissuading a witness from reporting.

Francis was charged back in 2011 after three women accused him of taking them to his Hollywood home -- following a night out -- and refusing to let them leave. He was also accused of attacking one of the women, choke-slamming her head into his tile floor.

Exiled "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis is STILL acting like the boss ... threatening and menacing GGW employees ... and now a judge has been asked to keep Joe 100 feet away from the company and its employees.

The problem -- and how AWKWARD is this? -- is that Francis still keeps an office there.

With no physical barriers between Francis and his old crew, he's still lording over them, according to the court filing ... he allegedly violently threatened "Girls Gone Wild" employees as recently as Sunday -- and tried to fire them for not obeying his commands.

The GGW trustee -- there's a trustee because the company is in bankruptcy -- is asking the judge to order Joe to stop meddling ... and to stay 100 feet from the "Girls Gone Wild" offices and its staff.

"Girls Gone Wild" has gone bankrupt ... filing for Chapter 11 reorganization -- but fear not late night TV viewers ... 'GGW' honchos insist "it will be business as usual" for the porn company.

Lawyers for 'GGW' filed docs yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court ... which gives the company protection from creditors while it comes up with a plan to handle all its debts.

According to the docs ... there are 3 subsidiaries of 'GGW' filing for Chapter 11 -- GGW Magazine, GGW Events, and GGW Direct.

In a statement, the company says it remains financially strong ... and throws other corporations under the bus ... claims it's just "like American Airlines and General Motors having sought reorganization under Chapter 11."

The Feds can officially stand down ... because a member of an L.A. synagogue has just accepted responsibility for a charity auction that somehow involved "Girls Gone Wild," a U.S. Senator, and the FBI.

To quickly recap -- the synagogue (Wilshire Boulevard Temple) recently auctioned off a summer internship position at the offices of Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor to help raise money for charity -- and GGW honcho Joe Francis won ... planning to give the position to the winner of his "Hottest Girl in America" competition.

Needless to say, Mark Pryor's office flipped out -- insisting it never sanctioned ANY intern auction -- and then reached out to the FBI to investigate the matter.

But a member of Wilshire Blvd. Temple named Chad Brownstein just sent a letter to Pryor's office, clarifying the whole SNAFU -- claiming he suggested the idea of auctioning off an internship position at Mark's office during a recent fundraising brainstorm session at the synagogue.

Chad says it quickly snowballed without his knowledge -- and the auction somehow went live on the Internet. Chad blames the whole thing on a "miscommunication."

LAPD officers just busted into a "Girls Gone Wild" photo shoot in a Hollywood Hills home -- and TMZ has learned it's all because the models might be getting wild on camera ... without a permit.

According to law enforcement sources ... police went to the home to conduct a "film permit investigation" because there's been an ongoing issue of people -- not only GGW -- shooting there without proper permits.

A GGW rep says they have about a dozen staffers -- including requisite girls in bikinis -- at the home shooting their "Search for the Hottest Girl in America."

The rep claims LAPD entered the private residence without a proper warrant or probable cause.

Francis -- who represented himself for part of the trial in federal court in Florida -- eventually hired a team of attorneys ... who managed to convince the jury that Joe is not responsible for any lasting emotional damage alleged by the women and therefore shouldn't have to pay them anything.

Francis had argued that the women had consented to being filmed and they simply made up the claims of emotional distress after the fact in the hopes of a payday.

The video was shot over two years ago in L.A. -- and according to the clip, Kacey's quite the exhibitionist ... claiming "I'm nineteen and I'm told that I'm cute and I have a hot body and I love to show it off."

Back in 2009, Capri dropped her drawers for GGW's "The Hottest Girl in America" video ... and after that, she became a finalist in GGW's "Search for the Hottest Girl in America" TV show that aired earlier this year on HD Net.

A "Girls Gone Wild" crew member allegedly went a little too wild with a young woman -- and now he's paying the price.

Suffolk County, NY cops popped Matthew O'Sullivan last night after a 20-year-old woman accused him of "unwanted sexual contact" that took place after she was invited onto the infamous bus. The "GGW" machine was in Smithtown, Long Island at a place called Nubar.

O'Sullivan was charged with Criminal Sexual Act in the first degree, and will be arraigned today in Central Islip. A "GGW" rep didn't immediately comment.

Following her spectacular rise to fame as Spitzer's call girl du jour, Dupre filed a $10 million suit against Francis and GGW after the company offered her -- and then rescinded after they discovered video of her in their vaults-- a $1 million deal. She claims "GGW" ruined her reputation.

We hear lawyers for GGW plan to grill Dupre on a litany of topics, hoping to prove that her previous use of fake names, fake IDs and fake web pages will shed light on the alleged shady lady's credibility. GGW's lawyer says after they're done with her, they're confident "any jury will view her claims as frivolous."

For his part, Francis says, "Now that we are calling on her to testify under oath, the world will learn the real truth about Ashley Dupre." Bring it on!

Dupre's New York lawyer Don Buchwald responded to TMZ: "To the extent her testimony is needed, she will of course comply with whatever the rules are in Florida courts."

Joe Francis, creator of the "Girls Gone Wild" franchise, was in court Monday to formally plea guilty to charges that he and his companies failed to create and maintain age and identity documents for performers in sexually explicit films. In other words, he officially acknowledges several girls may have been underage when they flashed their goods for the popular adult series.
As TMZ first reported, Francis agreed to a deal that orders him to personally pay a $500,000 fine, and his company to pay a $2.1 million fine.

The man behind the "Girls Gone Wild" empire has officially pleaded guilty to charges that he and his companies failed to create and maintain age and identity documents for performers in sexually explicit films that he produced and distributed. In other words, he officially acknowledges several girls may have been underage when they flashed their goods for the popular adult series.

GGW founder Joe Francis, along with his related companies, Mantra Films Inc. and MRA Holding LLC, agreed to pay the government a total of $2.1 million in fines and restitution, however only $500,000 will be paid by Francis himself.

Tuesday night, a Girls Gone Wild tour bus collided with a bicyclist in Iowa City, Iowa, landing the cyclist in the hospital. According to a fire department report obtained by TMZ, the accident happened just after 8 p.m. Firefighters arrived to find a male bicylist trapped beneath the tour bus, where he remained for 20 minutes before high-pressure air bags could be used to lift the vehicle and get him out.

The name of the cyclist wasn't released, pending investigation, and his condition isn't known.

The accident occurred as part of the Girls' bar-hopping national publicity tour, which pulls into Anaheim, Calif. on Wednesday. Cyclists beware.

Bill Horn, publicist for Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis, could not be reached for comment.