Ex-Con Sues Mark Zuckerberg for 50 Percent Stake in Facebook
Ex-Con Sues Mark Zuckerberg for 50 Percent Stake in Facebook
Posted 04/13/2011 at 6:20am
| by Paul Lilly
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Forget about the weary, there's no rest for the legal team of the rich of famous. In yesterday's episode in 'As the Social Networking World Turns,' an appeals court essentially told the Winklevoss twins to figure out how to be happy with a combined $160 million in cash ($20 million) and ownership in Facebook (worth about $140 million). And today? A convicted felon is stepping forward saying Mark Zuckerberg agreed to give him a 50 percent stake in Facebook in exchange for startup funding. Sounds shady, so why is anyone taking him seriously?
Paul Ceglia, the ex-con charged with fraud in connection with a wood pallet company and possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms in 1997, says he has emails from Zuckerberg that support his claim, Business Insider reports.
"Paul, I have a rather serious issue to discuss with you, according to our contract I owe you over 30 percent more of the business in late penalties which would give you over 80 percent of the company," an alleged email from Zuckerberg reads. "First I want to say that I think that is completely unfair because I did so much extra work for you on your site that caused those delays in the first place and second I don't even think it is legal to charge such a huge penalty. Mostly though I just won't even bother putting the site live if you are going to insist on such a large percentage. I'd like to suggest that you drop the penalty completely and that we officially return to 50/50 ownership."
This purportedly took place back in 2003, which brings up the question of why Ceglia waited to long to file suit. Ceglia says he waited because he thought he lost the documents supposedly proving his investment. As the story goes, he recently found them, which include not only the above email, but several others, and is now being represented by a much bigger law firm than the one he teamed up with last summer.
If the emails are indeed fake, they're at least convincing. "The emails don't read 'fake,'" Business Insider writes. Reuters came to the same conclusion saying, "The emails Facebook says are fake don't seem that way to me."
Image Credit: classmates.com
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Trooper_One
April 14, 2011 at 12:11pm
I gave Stevo a HJ back in 1986. He said he'll pay me when Apple got big but he never did. I need a lawyer too.
newegg911
April 13, 2011 at 6:09pm
I gave Bill Gates a BJ in 1993 on the terms that he would share half the profit of Windows 95 when it came out. I have a handwritten IOU on a sticky note. I'm waiting for my check William!
perryra1968
April 13, 2011 at 12:44pm
Con artist at his best. What a loser. A contract is a contract, but man, looks like everyone is trying to make a buck these days in this rough economy. But he was holding out since 2003? A con artist at his best...by far.
jonnyohio
April 13, 2011 at 10:24am
I have an email from Zuckerberg too, promising me $100 million dollars for some work I did for him back in '02. Unfortunately my lawyer told me it won't hold up in court because the sujbect line has the word 'FAKE' in it. I just can't catch a break.
someuid
April 13, 2011 at 9:52am
If I were Zuckerberg, I'd cash out what I could and make Facebook opensource. I'd then move to a nice, anonymous location and relax.
schmag
April 13, 2011 at 9:06am
I just forgot.....
Facebook was my idea... so was windows 7. the whole thing.
I just need a lawyer now.
wirehedd
April 13, 2011 at 6:38am
HA! If this guy ever gets his case into court and shows theat the deal was, in fact, genuine, Zuckerberg is going to freak out and go on a Silicon Valley killing spree as he not only loses his mind but half the value of Facebook.
I get the feling there is a lot more to this than we are being told. Can't wait to see how it works out.
Personally, I hope the dude shows that Zuckerberg DID promise him half the ownership. Imagine the monkey wrench that will throw into the Facebook IPO values. :)
..then maybe this idiotic "publish to facebook" shit will be REMOVED from this site's forums as well. GET RID OF THIS!!!
Neufeldt2002
April 13, 2011 at 8:01am
That would be funny.
Please make publish to facebook opt-in, not opt-out.
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