LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis was released from a week-long house arrest by Federal District Judge S. James Otero in a court hearing today according to a spokesman for Mantra Films, Inc. The same judge had kept Francis in custody overnight and then imposed the house arrest after Francis, suffering from the flu, arrived several hours late for a court appearance last Monday. Francis' doctor, who was present in court today, submitted a letter to the court verifying Francis' illness and treatment. Judge Otero ordered the conditions of house arrest and electronic monitoring for Francis to be dropped.
At the same hearing, Francis replaced the Bernhoft Law Firm with the highly respected trial counsel team of John Vandevelde and Janet Levine of the Crowell & Moring Law Firm who filed papers saying the government's motion was an "attempt to dirty the waters in advance of... trial." Francis' new attorney, John Vandevelde, said "We now have a trial date and we look forward to winning in the courtroom for Mr. Francis."
Francis has always maintained his innocence concerning the tax allegations and said, "I look forward to being vindicated when the case goes to trial and putting these absurd allegations permanently to rest. I am tired of being singled out and criminalized by the government because of what I do for a living. This is not a case about tax evasion; it's simply another attempt to prosecute Joe Francis for being the creator of Girls Gone Wild."
