'Girls Gone Wild' video company files for bankruptcy

The video company responsible for the raunchy video series "Girls Gone Wild" filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday in U.S. Federal Court. According to Reuters, GGW Brands has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing $16 million in debts, chief among them a $10.3 million to Wynn Resorts casino owner Steve Wynn.

The "Girls Gone Wild" series features footage of women in their late teens and early 20s, often very intoxicated, taking off their clothes for the camera and sometimes engaging in simulated lesbian sex. Joe Francis, creator of the video series, was ordered to pay Wynn $40 million in damages for defamation and emotional distress last year when a Los Angeles jury failed to believe his story that Wynn had threatened his life over a gambling debt.

A woman who won a $5 million lawsuit against "Girls Gone Wild" is also listed as a creditor in the filing. She sued the company after it sold videos showing her having her breasts exposed in a bar against her will.

GGW Brands said in a statement on Thursday that it has less than $50,000 in assets.

Francis has served prison time before for tax evasion and attempted bribery of public officials.