Girls Gone WIld Bankrupt: Files for Bankruptcy to Aid in Legal Affiairs, Owe over $16M in Jury Awards

"Girls Gone WIld" has gone a little too wilid & crazy, forcing the company behind the video empire to file for bankruptcy on Wednesday in Los Angeles as an effort to "restructure its legal affairs after several disputed court judgements." According to The Associated Press, GGW Brands LLC and several subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing more than $16 million in disputed claims.

"Girls Gone Wild remains strong as a company and strong financially," the company said in a statement."The only reason Girls Gone Wild has elected to file for this reorganization is to re-structure its frivolous and burdensome legal affairs."

These legal bills are highlighted by a $10.3 million claim by Wynn Resorts (WYNN) against Joe Francis, the founder of "Girls Gone Wild," for gambling debt and statements against the casino and its founder Steve Wynn, states FOX News.

Francis, who has made a fortune selling videos and magazines of young women exposing themselves and flashing their breasts on film, no longer owns the company. However, his ongoing five-year legal feud with casino mogul Wynn, who has already successfully sued Francis multiple times, has forced his former company to file in an effort to protect the business' assets from Francis' enemy. Wynn is still apparently owed $30 million by the GGW founder, and the recent bankruptcy is not stopping him from trying to collect, according to the LA Times.

"Our judgments are not against Joe Francis' companies, but rather against Mr. Francis personally," Michael Weaver, Wynn Las Vegas' senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "Consequently, these recent bankruptcy filings by the GGW companies will not slow our efforts to collect on our judgments against Mr. Francis."

Besides Wynn's $10.3 million, another big claim comes from a St. Louis woman who successfully sued Francis' company in 2008. She was awarded $5.8 million after claiming that her breasts were exposed on the Girls Gone Wild Sorority Orgy series without her permission, according to FOX.

GGW Brands, which listed less than $50,000 in assets in the bankruptcy filing, compared itself with high-profile U.S. companies that have restructured in court like General Motors and American Airlines, FOX noted.

Bankruptcy seems to be becoming a trend these days. Check out another company who recently filed for bankruptcy here.