How NOT to do OTC, Part Deux

8/24/2011 8:20:27 AM

Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis Charged With Assault, False Imprisonment.

â€œGirls Gone Wildâ€ founder Joe Francis is in hot water with the authorities again.

The Los Angeles City Attorney charged the soft-porn entrepreneur with three counts of misdemeanor false imprisonment, one count of assault and one count of dissuading a victim from reporting a crime, based on a complaint filed by three women.

A warrant was issued Friday for Francis's arrest, and he turned himself in Monday night at the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Station according to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's Office. Francis was quickly freed on $50,000 bail, Mateljan added, with an arraignment set for Sept. 16.

â€œWe felt strongly that charges were warranted in this case,â€ Mateljan told Speakeasy.

Francis's bodyguard and driver, Vagram Gegdzhyan, 34, also was named as a defendant in the same arrest warrant. He, too, turned himself in on Monday and posted bail, Mateljan said.

Francis's production company, Mantra Entertainment, was not immediately available for comment.

According to prosecutors' description of the Jan. 29 incident, Francis and Gegdzhyan promised to give the three alleged victims a ride back to their cars following a college graduation party at Supperclub, a popular Hollywood night spot. But once they were inside Francis' limousine, prosecutors say, the two men took the women against their wills to Francis's home.

On the way back to Francis's residence, Gegdzhyan allegedly flashed a sheriff's badge and wouldn't let the women out of the limo. He is charged with impersonating a public officer and fraudulently using a badge, in addition to three counts of unlawful imprisonment.

Once the quintet arrived at Francis' home, the allegations get uglier. The City Attorney's Office claims an altercation ensued, in which Francis is alleged to have grabbed one woman by the throat and hair and slammed her head against his tile floor.

After escorting the women off the property, Francis and Gegdzhyan are accused of dissuading the women from making a police report by refusing to pay their cab fares if they reported the incident to police, Mateljan said.

In 2003, authorities in Florida arrested him and charged him with a multitude of crimes, including racketeering and drug trafficking. Francis paid a $1.6 million fine and most of the charges were dropped.