Francis, who was indicted by a federal grand jury on tax evasion charges in 2007, pleaded guilty in September to a felony count of bribing Washoe County jail staff members and two misdemeanor counts of tax evasion in 2003.
Francis got credit for time served
On Friday, Nov. 6, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero accepted a plea deal and sentenced Francis to 301 days, time already served, and a year of probation for filing false tax returns and bribing jail workers.
The judge ruled that Francis would be under supervised release until Nov. 8, 2010. "No additional incarceration is necessary," said Otero.
The 36-year-old soft-porn mogul also must pay $249,705 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a $10,000 fine as part of Friday's sentencing by Judge Otero.
In a statement after the sentencing, Francis’ head trial attorney Brad Brian said: "It took us seven months, but in the end we demonstrated that the felony tax charges never should have been brought in the first place. As a result, the indictment was dismissed and the charges were reduced to only two misdemeanors with no jail time."
"It's over," Francis said after the sentencing. "I’m a free man. I'm not going to jail."
Francis proved innocent
“I have asserted my innocence on the felony charges against me in this matter for two years," Francis said after the sentencing, as he left the Edward R. Roybal Center and Federal Building court on in Los Angeles yesterday.
"I accept responsibility for that. I trusted people who turned out to be crooks," he continued.
Former accountant blamed for tax troubles
Francis, whose criminal record includes a 2008 felony conviction for filming underage girls in Florida, singled out a former accountant for his tax troubles. Francis claims the accountant tried to defraud him and turned him into the authorities so he could collect a reward from the IRS.
Francis initially was accused of taking $20 million in fraudulent tax deductions. He said it was unfortunate the government was "duped into squandering so much energy, and more importantly, so much taxpayer money on coming after me".
Francis’ deal with prosecutors
Francis could have faced a maximum of four years in prison if the judge didn't accept his plea deal struck with prosecutors in September. The deal came after the prosecutors learned that Francis' former accountant lied to them.
Francis was indicted by a federal grand jury in Reno on tax evasion charges in 2007. He was accused of failing to report $562,883 earned by a Cayman Islands-based holding company in 2003.
While incarcerated in Washoe County Jail, Francis and his employee, Aaron Weinstein, allegedly bribed three jail workers with cash and $5000 worth of goods in exchange for food and special privileges.
Weinstein and two of the jail workers will face trial in December, while former deputy Ralph Hawkins has pleaded guilty to accepting the bribes this summer. He will be sentenced in December.
Post new comment