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Soft porn company Girls Gone Wild files for bankruptcy over $16 million debt

 

Jill Serjeant
Friday 01 March 2013 10:43 GMT
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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 s
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 s (AP)

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Girls Gone Wild, an American softcore porn company that films drunk girls on Spring Break, has filed for bankruptcy protection citing debts of $16 million.

Privately owned GGW Brands, the company behind video series, which features scantily clad young women drinking, dancing and stripping, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles company said in a statement that it was seeking reorganisation and that the filing would not affect any of domestic or international operations of Girls Gone Wild.

The company, which has sold millions of the racy videos and DVDs since 1997, listed a $10.3 million debt owed to Wynn Resorts casino owner Steve Wynn as its biggest debt.

Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis was last year ordered to pay Wynn $40 million in damages for defamation and emotional distress. A Los Angeles jury found that Francis had falsely claimed that Wynn threatened his life over a gambling debt.

Another creditor listed in the bankruptcy papers was a woman who won a $5 million lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild after someone exposed her breasts in a bar without her consent for one of company's films.

GGW Brands said it has assets of less than $50,000, according to the court papers.

"The company Girls Gone Wild remains strong as a company and strong financially. The only reason Girls Gone Wild has elected to file for this reorganization is to restructure its frivolous and burdensome legal affairs," GGW Brands said in a statement on Thursday.

Reuters

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