GIRLS GONE WILD "JOE FRANCIS" PLEA DEAL

The founder of the company that produces the "Girls Gone Wild" videos of women appearing in sexual situations pleaded guilty Monday to charges of failing to document the ages of young women engaging in sexual acts in the videos. As part of the plea deal, Joe Francis, 33, agreed to pay a $500,000 fine. A judge will decide whether to accept or reject the deal at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 18. Outside court, Francis told reporters he thought the chances are "pretty slim" that the judge would reject the deal. "We are thrilled to have this stuff behind us," Francis said. Francis' attorney, Aaron Dyer, said underage girls who had appeared in the videos had lied about their age to the company. Francis' Santa Monica-based company, Mantra Films Inc., pleaded guilty earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Florida on similar charges. According to court papers, Mantra Films admitted to violating record keeping and labeling laws while producing and distributing the videos during all of 2002 and part of 2003. A second company owned by Mantra's founder, MRA Holdings LLC, entered into a deferred agreement on charges of improper labeling. Under that agreement with prosecutors, the charges would be dismissed after three years if MRA Holdings cooperates with future government prosecutions, admits wrongdoing and pays fines. It must also hire an outside company to monitor its records and production facilities to ensure compliance with federal law. Separate state charges in Florida alleging that two 17-year-old girls were videotaped by a "Girls Gone Wild" cameraman in sexual situations remain pending against Francis and Mantra Films. When not running his company, he can be seen hanging with the likes of Lindsey Lohan and Snoop Dog........