Joe Francis' Mantra Films Among Santa Monica's Top Tax Outlaws

Joe Francis is best known as the owner of Santa Monica's Mantra Films, the production company behind Girls Gone Wild and other softcore pornography. But he's also commonly associated with tax problems, including tax evasion, filing false tax returns and failing to pay personal income taxes.

Francis, who previously spent 10 months in federal prison over a related matter, isn't out of the woods yet. According to the state Franchise Tax Board's latest list of the top 250 delinquent taxpayers in California, Mantra Films still owes the state $651,115.35 in corporate income taxes, dating back to Feb. 6, 2009.

Mantra Films isn't the only major tax offender in Santa Monica. The same list also includes Frydoun Sheikhpour, who owes $915,828.35 in personal income taxes.

Meanwhile, on the state Board of Equalization's latest list of largest delinquent sales and use tax accounts over $100,000, there are four income and sales tax outlaws in Santa Monica.

The Santa Monica-based individuals and businesses on that list are as follows [the first lien date is in brackets]:

• Falex Samergon, (dba Fiesta Auto), $1,177,895 [May 6, 2003]

• Token Automotive Inc. (dba Santa Monica Mitsubishi), $1,058,881 [Sep. 30, 2005]

• Photography Unlimited, Inc. (dba USA Sports Photography), $711,450 [Jan. 18, 2007]

• , Inc., $688,119 [Apr. 29, 2009]

Voicemails and messages left by Santa Monica Patch for Mantra Films, Photography Unlimited and the 17th St. Cafe were not returned by press time. Multiple calls made to Fiesta Auto were also unsuccessful. A representative for Glendale Mitsubishi said that Santa Monica Mitsubishi has been closed for five or six years.

"We continue to take collection action against everyone on the list," Board of Equalization spokeswoman Anita Gore told Santa Monica Patch. "Each of the people listed have liens or levies against property or assets, so the board would collect from any sale of property or activity like that."

Gore noted that some of the outstanding liabilities are old, and that all of them continue to accrue interest. The board's current debit rate for deficiencies is 6 percent through Dec. 31; go here to see the varying rates since Jan. 1, 2001.

Businesses and individuals on the Board of Equalization list are removed if they go into bankruptcy, enter into a pay-installment plan with the board, pay in full or are surpassed by debtors with higher liabilities.

Over the past year, Californians skipped out on $6.5 billion in state personal and corporate income taxes, a sum that would make a huge dent in the state deficit. Another $1.4 billion was owed by retailers who typically failed to pass along sales taxes paid by their customers, according to the Los Angeles Times.