Perennially smiling entrepreneur Joe Francis might not have so much to smile about now. The Girls Gone Wild Founder may owe nearly $34 million in taxes. Francis has been served with a tax lien that says that he failed to pay $17.7 million in 2001, $11.2 million in 2002 and $4.9 million in 2003. Francis told TMZ that he doesn't owe the money and that the lien is "total retaliation for me beating them in court." A couple of weeks ago a judge approved a plea deal letting Francis plead guilty to charges of filing false tax returns and bribing jail workers and sentencing him to time served and a year of probation. Francis is planning to file for personal bankruptcy.

After the jump, check out a video of Francis on the television show "Life of Luxury." It showcases his extravagant spending on yachts, homes, exotic cars, jets, and of course, entertaining beautiful young women.

Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto recently presented his black, white and edgy designs at Spring-Summer 2010 fashion week in Paris but things weren't so rosy behind the scenes. The brand has filed for bankruptcy protection listing debts of six billion yen, or $67.8 million. The firm is planning to continue to operate while in bankruptcy. The brand Yohji Yamamoto was formed by the designer in 1984 and he is part of an influential group of designers from Japan, including Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake, who gained influence in the 1980s. The brand's moderately priced Y-3 line with Adidas is set to continue.

The economy is being blamed for the financial situation. Japan's luxury market appears to be less robust lately, especially in light of the recent announcement by Versace that it is closing its Japan boutiques. But Yamamoto's popularity extends beyond Japan. The minimalist line, which offers easy-to-wear clothing with unique cuts, has a small but devoted following. Other nIche brands like Escada and Christian Lacroix has faced similar financial woes. As in other industries smaller fashion businesses often don't have the resources or name recognition to compete once overall spending goes down. Another determining factor for many of the smaller brands has also been the decrease in orders from department stores. As stores and boutiques trim their orders many of the less well-known brands are being left behind.

UPDATE:Yohji Yamamoto Inc. has found a new investor. Integral Corp., a Japanese private equity fund, will finance the company's restructure. WWD says that pending court approval, Integral plans to create a separate company to acquire the Yamamoto business and assets which will become the new Yohji Yamamoto Inc. with Yamamoto himself retaining a minority stake.

It looks like Copia, the the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa Valley, is finally down for the count for good. Its Napa site is being sold by Alvarez & Marsal Real Estate Advisory Services LLC which has been retained by ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. to market and oversee sale of the property. Copia closed last November and filed for bankruptcy. The prime real estate includees 17 acres on the Napa River over three contiguous parcels. It may be sold or leased as a whole or as individual pieces.

The Copia building is a two-story, 78,632-square-foot building that includes a teaching kitchen and rooms for exhibits and the grounds include expansive gardens. The Napa nonprofit was the dream of wine great Robert Mondavi who envisioned it as a centerpiece for the wine tourism industry in Napa Valley. No sale price has been listed and it's not clear if it will be used again as a tourist destination although the size and design of the facility doesn't lend it to many other purposes.

Au revoir, Café des Artistes. One of New York City's most fabled restaurants, Café des Artistes, has filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. The restaurant, which was located at 1 West 67th Street, just off Central Park West, was once regarded as one of the most sought-after and highly rated restaurants in Manhattan. Owner George Lang closed the restaurant in August for renovations with a planned reopening in mid-September. Sadly, it appears this is never to happen and the restaurant's doors have been shuttered for good. The bankruptcy petition lists assets of $84,500 and liabilities of nearly $500,000 owed to creditors.

Matthew Hiltzik, a spokesman for Leibovitz, says, "Annie is continuing to work to resolve this matter with Art Capital, according to a report by NPR. Montieth M. Illingworth, who is the spokesman for Art Capital Group, told me by e-mail today that there is "nothing to report right now."

What remains are choices ... all of them belonging to Art Capital Group. The art finance institution could allow Leibovitz to renegotiate, extend the loan's timeframe or take a portion or all of the collateral. The estimated value of all the collateral posted is between $80 million and $90 million, though the artistic and real estate assets may not sell as easily as some expect.

It seems as though Art Capital Group is approaching the situation delicately, as it wants to avoid the messiness of bankruptcy proceedings. The answers may come at the next court date, scheduled for October 2, 2009, unless the parties can come to an agreement before then.

You've got to hand it to Lenny Dykstra, the former baseball player is a fighter. But Dykstra lost a major battle this week when a bankruptcy judge ruled that he lose control of his Chapter 11 bankruptcy and turn over management of his financial affairs to a court-appointed trustee.

Judge Geraldine Mund had told Dykstra last month that if he wanted to be in charge of his own reorg he had to come to court showing that both of his homes were insured and listed for sale and to provide a business plan showing how he would manage his Chapter 11 reorganization. Dyktstra's home in Thousand Oaks, California is not insured because he is still battling with Fireman's Fund. Dykstra said he has a $12 million offer for the home, which he bought from Wayne Gretzky, from someone who "runs a hedge fund." He had no proof to this effect. He also said that Louis Vuitton had promised $10 million for a 49 percent stake in relaunching his Players Club magazine and expanding it in Europe. The only evidence he had was an email signed Bernard referring to Bernard Vuitton Juhen. Bernard Arnault is the chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. Bernard Vuitton Juhen appears to be a Vuitton family member. The email gave no specifics as to when or if $10 million would be paid although Dykstra said he'd get the money when the magazine published. How he would raise the money to publish in the first place wasn't clear. Judge Mund decided that an outside trustee is in "the interest of creditors and Mr. Dykstra, even if he doesn't think so."

We've been worried about the fate of German fashion brand Escada for a while. Now the brand is filing for bankruptcy following an unsuccessful push to obtain financing. Escada made a series of last ditch efforts to save itself include a pitching a debt restructuring plan to its creditors which was rejected. Escada has its own shops and franchise shops in over 60 countries and employs around 2,300 people. The court has chosen Christian Gerloff as preliminary insolvency administrator. The company carries around $100 million in debt and has struggled over the past year as the market for luxury goods has declined.

The news came as official data showed Germany had emerged from recession in the second quarter. There are hopes that Escada will continue onward. It has a global reputation as a designer label selling not just clothing but also fragrances, handbags and children's apparel. Bloomberg says that Russian millionaire Rustam Aksenenko owns 20.9 percent of the stock and German billionaires Wolfgang and Michael Herz hold 12.45 percent each. No one seems to know what the fate of the brand will be but I'm sure many loyal fans of the brand's understated elegance are hoping for the best.

We've written before about Annie Leibovitz's financial woes but as Gawker reports, now her lender, Art Capital Group, is taking her to court. Leibovitz borrowed $24 million from the financial firm and as collateral the company took not only her two homes and all her negatives and the copyright to her photographs but also an agreement to sell her archives to repay the loan and the rights to arrange the sale. Art Capital has sued breach of contract saying that she isn't letting real estate agents into her homes and is being difficult in order to block attempts to sell the photos. The suit says that the loan was offered on the assumption that Leibovitz would eventually have to sell her photos to pay back the loan when it comes due in September. As part of the agreement that Leibovitz signed, Art Capital has the rights to administer sales of the work.

At Capital has physical custody of the negatives but the company is after a bigger prize, the intellectual property rights to Leibovitz's portfolio. In order to broker that sort of sale they need Leibovitz's cooperation. Meanwhile, Leibovitz made an agreement with Getty Images in March to work under a "a special multi-assignment collaboration." This deal, done without Art Capital's knowledge, cut them out of getting commission on the photos. The suit doesn't mention any payments that Leibovitz has made to Art Capital against the loan but it is unlikely that she has paid much of it off and as the Gawker article mentions Leibovitz's only out may be to declare bankruptcy. One of Gawker's commenters also makes the point that with the magazine business shrinking and the budget for lavish photo shoots on the wane, Leibovitz's opportunities to make money may be diminished.

Art Capital is in the business of making money off art and sometimes, artists. The company issues loans of $500,000 or more at interest rates from six percent to 16 percent to those who have artwork worthy of making such a loan. It operates like a pawn shop; if you fail to pay and you lose your precious art. Case in point, a Rubens hanging in the Art Capital offices once belonged to Veronica Hearst, the widow of Randolph Apperson Hearst. She mortgaged her art to hold onto Villa Venezio in Manalapan, Florida. She eventually lost the home in foreclosure. Artist Julian Schnabel sued Art Capital this year. He took out an $8 million loan in 2006, when he was building his pink folly known as Palazzo Chupi. Schnabel claims he paid back the loan but Art Capital says it is entitled to more money because Schnabel did not reveal there was an existing mortgage on the property. An ArtInfo article on that suit quotes Gerald Peters, a Santa Fe-based dealer who has bought paintings from Art Capital and says that "the game they have to play is rough, but the service they are providing is real. And there's demand for it."

Don't count fashion brand Christian Lacroix out yet. Lacroix was placed under bankruptcy protection in June. The brand has never been profitable but, as the Wall Street Journal reports, the creative, inventive, distinctly French brand is considered a cultural treasure in France. Italy's Borletti Group has bid along with Christian Lacroix, the co-founder and designer (shown above, at right, with French Industry Minister Christian Estrosi) to take control of the brand and perhaps save it from being closed down. There were four bids total for the fashion house and the winner will be announced by the administrator in September. Meanwhile Christian Lacroix's 125 workers have been asked to take the month of August off and if a buyer isn't found 112 workers could lose their jobs. Christian Lacroix is currently owned by the Falic group which bought the brand from LVMH in 2005. Last year it reported a €10 million loss ($14.2 million) on €30 million in sales.

The slow decline of Lenny Dykstra, the baseball player turned investor turned magazine publisher has taken a new turn as he filed for bankruptcy protection today. What's astounding is the depth of his debt: he has listed less than $50,000 in assets with debts totaling between $10 million and $50 million. Just a few months ago he told ESPN.com that he was worth $60 million and more recently took TMZ to task when they reported on the repossession of his Rolls.

The petition shows he owes JPMorgan Chase & Co. $12.9 million and Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide and credit-card units $4.2 million. Other debts include nearly $1 million to jet charter services as well as hundreds of thousands to his lawyer and literary agent. The filing comes the day before a planned auction of the home in Lake Sherwood which Dykstra bought from Wayne Gretsky for $18.5 million.

Another iconic jewelry company has filed Chapter 11. It has been announced that David Webb filed Chapter 11 yesterday reporting assets of $10.3 million and liabilities of $6.9 million. Diamonds,net had a look at the documents which show that while gross sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, were $13.2 million, total sales for the coming fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 were not expected to top $5 million. The company estimated operating expenses for the next 30 days at $377,927 with expected sales of approximately $400,000. The "Silberstein Family Partnership" is listed as sole owner of the company. The company has been in business over sixty years and has provided jewelry for some of the most legendary jewel connoisseurs in the world including Elizabeth Taylor, The Duchess of Windsor and Princess Grace. David Webb pieces which often feature animals and naturalistic themes remain some of the most collectible pieces in the jewelry world.

It's trendy lately to rage against the cushy deals that retired execs get but it saddens me a little to learn that Lee Iacocca, the car executive who turned Chrysler around n the 1980s, may lose a major part of his pension and a guaranteed life-long company car as part of the fall-out from Chrysler's bankruptcy deal. Reuters reports that Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli told a U.S. bankruptcy court that Iacocca's pension would be among the obligations Chrysler won't be paying if it gets bankruptcy court approval to sell itself to a "New Chrysler" to be owned by its union, the U.S. and Canadian governments and Fiat. Iacocca's retirement was part of a supplemental executive retirement plan including non-IRS qualified pension funds that are therefore subject to bankruptcy. Chrysler is also stopping a program that gave company cars for life to former executives and directors including Iacocca (shown above in 2005 with a Mercedes Maybach).

Iacocca, who was the president of Ford in the mid 1960s, came to national attention in the 1980s when he starred in the Chrylser commercials touting the quality and durability of his American-made cars. The gallery below traces Iacocca's career including his ill-fated adventure in selling electric bicycles. In a commercial from 1984, placed after the jump, it's interesting to see how Iacocca dealt with the bankruptcy facing his company over two decades ago. His straight talking approach and focus on hard work appealed directly to the American people buying his cars. As he says in the commercial: "I have one, and only one, ambition for Chrysler, to be the best."

While the Lambertson Truex line has been a favorite for fashionistas it never became a household name. But now the company, which filed for bankruptcy in March, will have a second life under the aegis of Tiffany & Co. Tiffany bought the brand likely to bring the label's talented namesakes Richard Lambertson and John Truex into the company. Just what is Tiffany going to do with handbag designers? It seems likely that Tiffany may be looking into creating a line of purses and small leather accessories. Not many details have been made public yet and no financial terms were revealed.

High-end jewelry line Doris Panos Designs has become the latest jeweler to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Papers filed in New York show that the company estimates that its assets and liabilities each total between $1 million and $10 million. Doris Panos is a jeweler who created her own business in 1993 after years in the field. Her dramatic pieces featuring large gemstones have been worn on the red carpet and appeared in many fashion magazines. Her line is sold at Neiman Marcus and other fine stores. The jewelry industry has been hit by many bankruptcies lately including Whitehall Jewelers, Fortunoff, Robbins Brothers and Ultra Diamonds.

I wrote last week about the problems facing Fortunoff, the fine jewelry and furniture retailer. Now as National Jeweler reports, a bankruptcy court judge had decided to allow Fortunoff Fine Jewelry and Silverware LLC's request to auction off its assets (aside from goods obtained on consignment) later this month. The auction is being pushed through quickly partially because Fortunoff is facing a major liquidity crisis and needs help fast if it is to continue as a going concern, the brand has been actively seeking a buyer. The auction will take place at the offices of law firm Sidley Austin LLP, 787 Seventh Ave. in Manhattan on February 23. Those who want a chance to bid on Fortunoff's assets must submit a qualified bid in writing to the offices of Sidley Austin LLP on or before Feb. 19 at 4:00 p.m. The company could be sold in its entirety or a separate bidder could emerge for the company's inventory. Fortunoff is seeking to continue to run an ongoing business but if no buyer emerges then it will likely face liquidation. Finding someone to buy Fortunoff seems an iffy proposition at best currently, especially considering the fact that Fortunoff's main categories of furniture and jewelry are two of the hardest hit sectors. A special website has been set up with information on the bankrptcy filing.