Thursday, Nov 19, 2009    Text size: 

According to the IRS, Francis owes $17,658,358 in 2001, $11,238,582 in 2002 and $4,922,147 in 2003.

Francis, who denies owing the IRS such amounts, said authorities have seized more than $100 million in his cash accounts.

He claims the IRS is forcing him to file for personal bankruptcy, which is what he will do tomorrow, TMZ reported Thursday.

This is in "total retaliation for me beating them in court," he said.

Earlier this month, Francis was sentenced to time served and a year of probation for filing false income tax returns.

U.S. District Judge S. James Otero gave Francis credit for 301 days already served in jail. The plea deal also required him to pay $250,000 in restitution.

At the time, Francis said he has asserted his innocence on the felony charges for two years. “It is unfortunate that the IRS and the Department of Justice were duped into squandering so much energy, and more importantly, so much taxpayer money, on coming after me,” he said.