This cover image released by Girls Gone Wild shows the September 2009 issue of "Girls Gone Wild." "Girls Gone Wild" filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 in Los Angeles in a move the company says is aimed at restructuring its legal affairs amid several creditors seeking more than $16 million in disputed debts. (AP Photo/Girls Gone Wild via PRNewsFoto)
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This cover image released by Girls Gone Wild shows the September 2009 issue of "Girls Gone Wild." "Girls Gone Wild" filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 in Los Angeles in a move the company says is aimed at restructuring its legal affairs amid several creditors seeking more than $16 million in disputed debts. (AP Photo/Girls Gone Wild via PRNewsFoto)
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FILE - This photo combination of file photos shows casino mogul Steve Wynn, left, in Los Angeles, and "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis, in Los Angeles. A judge has cut casino mogul Steve Wynn's slander verdict against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis by $21 million, more than half of the original $40 million jury verdict. A jury found that Francis slandered Wynn when he claimed the casino mogul threatened to kill him and bury him in the desert. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, Chris Pizzello, file)
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FILE - In this April 27, 2011 file photo, Steve Wynn is interviewed in Las Vegas. Wynn and porn producer Joe Francis faced off before jurors Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, with the casino mogul denying that he threatened to kill the "Girls Gone Wild" founder and saying the accusation is threatening his upscale casinos. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
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FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2010 file phtoo Joe Francis arrives at a screening of the film "The Next Three Days," in Los Angeles. Steve Wynn and Francis faced off before jurors Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, with the casino mogul denying that he threatened to kill the "Girls Gone Wild" founder and saying the accusation is threatening his upscale casinos. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
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In this 2005 magazine cover provided by Reader's Digest magazine, the 1,000th issue of the 83-year-old mini magazine, is shown. The parent company of Reader's Digest has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than four years on Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, saying it needs to cut its debt so it can keep restructuring. (AP Photo/Reader's Digest, file) NO SALES
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FILE - This Oct. 17, 2012 file photo shows the Revel, Atlantic City, N.J.'s newest casino. Revel, the casino many people had hoped would turn around Atlantic City's sagging fortunes, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 said that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, less than a year after it opened. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)
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FILE - In this April 2, 2012 file photo, Kevin DeSanctis, CEO of Revel Entertainment, and his wife, Donna, greet employees moments before the new $2.4 billion casino resort opened in Atlantic City, N.J. Revel, the casino many people had hoped would turn around Atlantic City's sagging fortunes, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 said that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, less than a year after it opened. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)
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FILE - In this March 19, 2012 file photo, Kati MacFarline, left, of Nashua, N.H., and Christine Kashian, of Caribou, Maine, sit on a jetty near Revel in Atlantic City, N.J. Revel, the casino many people had hoped would turn around Atlantic City's sagging fortunes, said Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, less than a year after it opened. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
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FILE - In this June 28, 2011 file photo, actor Patrick Dempsey attends the "Transformers: Dark Of The Moon'" premiere in Times Square in New York. Late Thursday night Jan. 3, 2013, Dempsey announced that his company, Global Baristas LLC, made the winning bid for Tully's Coffee. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)
'Girls Gone Wild' files for bankruptcy over debts
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The company behind the "Girls Gone Wild" video empire has filed for bankruptcy in a move it says is an effort to restructure its legal affairs after several disputed court judgments.
GGW Brands LLC and several subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday in Los Angeles, listing more than $16 million in disputed claims.
The largest claim is $10.3 million that Wynn Resorts Limited is seeking from the company for judgments entered against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis over a gambling debt and statements he has made about the casino and its founder, Steve Wynn.
The figure does not include a $19 million judgment Wynn won against Francis in a slander trial last year. The case, which centered on Francis' claims that Wynn threatened to kill him over the gambling debt, is being appealed.
Francis no longer GGW Brands, which has made a fortune selling videos and magazines of young women flashing their breasts. Subsidiary companies GGW Magazine and GGW Events have also filed for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy proceedings generally halt efforts to collect judgments in other courts.
"Girls Gone Wild remains strong as a company and strong financially," the company said in a statement, likening itself to other businesses such as American Airlines and General Motors that have filed for bankruptcy to restructure. "The only reason Girls Gone Wild has elected to file for this reorganization is to re-structure its frivolous and burdensome legal affairs."
The second largest claim listed in the proceedings is a nearly $5.8 million judgment a St. Louis woman won against Francis last year in a Missouri court. Tamara Favazza sued after she learned she had been featured on a "Girls Gone Wild" DVD over an incident when she was a 20-year-old college student and someone lifted her tank top at a bar and flashed a camera.
Francis and his company, Mantra Films, are seeking to have the judgment overturned in federal court.
The bankruptcy filing also lists unspecified legal fees in the Wynn and Favazza cases.
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