“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis spent the night in jail following an arrest on misdemeanor assault charges, authorities said Saturday.

Francis, 41, was arrested Friday evening at an office building in the 10900 block of Wilshire Boulevard after he was involved in “pushing and shoving,” according to Los Angeles police Sgt. John Juarez.

He was released early Saturday morning on $20,000 bail, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department website.

Juarez said police were investigating whether Francis’ presence at the building was a violation of a “stay away” order issued by federal Bankruptcy Court.


Francis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2013. His creditors included casino mogul Steve Wynn.

Earlier this month the Nevada Supreme Court upheld Wynn’s $7.5-million judgment in a civil defamation case against Francis.

A three-justice panel rejected arguments by Francis that a default judgment granted by a Clark County judge in 2012 should be set aside because his attorneys had withdrawn and he was unable to defend himself.

Justices said the soft-porn video empire founder’s last-minute attempts to challenge the default judgment were an attempt to stall proceedings.


Wynn sued Francis in 2008 amid a legal tussle over a $2-million gambling debt that Francis incurred at the Wynn Las Vegas resort. In 2012, Wynn won a $21-million judgment against Francis after a separate slander trial in Los Angeles.