Crime | Joe Francis Girls Gone Wild Founder Hit With Another $20M Verdict Steve Wynn now owed $40M by 'digital assassin' By Rob Quinn Posted Sep 12, 2012 1:31 AM CDT Copied Joe Francis attends the House of Hype Music Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel last week. (Photo by Arnold Turner/Invision/AP, File) Bad-mouthing casino mogul Steve Wynn has cost Joe Francis $20 million for the second day in a row. A jury awarded Wynn $20 million in punitive damages in his defamation lawsuit against the Girls Gone Wild founder yesterday, after awarding him $20 million in compensatory damages Monday, reports the Los Angeles Times. Wynn, who sued after Francis claimed he had threatened to have him killed over a gambling debt, plans to donate the money to charity, TMZ reports. "Joe Francis represents a new kind of criminal type: the digital assassin. He takes advantage of the protection afforded by the Internet to issue intentionally destructive charges against someone’s reputation," Wynn said in a statement. "Thank God for the justice system that finally sent a message: If you think you’re taking a cheap shot, it may be a lot more expensive than you had imagined." Read These Next White House makes Hegseth put his polygraph away. A new book argues the Sacagawea legend is all wrong. A parent's nightmare, in a white cardboard box. We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. Report an error