'Girls Gone Wild' founder Joe Francis desperate to block release of sex tape

Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis, whose company recently filed for bankruptcy, is the unwilling star of a raunchy hardcore sex tape that is currently making the rounds in search of a distributor. According to TMZ, however, the ex-convict CEO is desperate to halt its release and has called in his lawyers to intimidate media outlets that might buy the stolen video.

The video reportedly features sexual encounters between Francis and several women, including girlfriend Abbey Wilson, the 2012 winner of the Girls Gone Wild "Search for the Hottest Girl in America." The video was on Wilson's iPad, which was apparently stolen from her bag at Los Angeles International Airport.

Francis' lawyer, David Houston, said to TMZ, "It is not only unfortunate, but it is a crime. As such, this office will take all necessary steps to determine who in fact has done this and who is attempting to distribute the video."

Addressing the unknown party who is allegedly shopping the video to outlets, Houston said, "When we catch you, we will see that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of both the criminal and civil laws."

The "Girls Gone Wild" video series features women in their late teens and twenties, often very intoxicated, stripping off their clothes and mugging for hand-held cameras, sometimes engaging in simulated lesbian acts for the titillation of watching men.

Frances has faced a plethora of lawsuits from former business partners and associates, as well as women who say there were unfairly duped into signing waivers consenting to be filmed and recorded. One plaintiff won a $5 million settlement when "Girls Gone Wild" distributed footage of her breasts being exposed in a bar against her will.

[image of Joe Francis via Wikipedia.org]